You’ve just entered a new world. It’s part mystery, part mission, part game, part contest.

At the moment, Silas is looking for a lost photo - an important photo. And you can help Silas find this photo. Participants earn awards and receive other benefits along the way.

Or, you can take side trips into other challenges we’re working on. And there will be chances to express yourself and compete for more awards. It’s all coming soon.

So come back often and watch things develop.

-- Friends of Silas

(P.S. send us an email to tell us what you think or to ask questions: friends@FindLostPhoto.org)

Background 

In August, 2007, Silas J. Dumont’s grandmother Celie died in Houston. Silas’ father, Fitch, asked Silas to come to Houston from Los Angeles and help him go through Celie’s things; there was no one else — Celie had been a widow for many years, and Silas’ mother had passed five years earlier. Silas, 30, had not spoken to his father for a long time so he thought the trip might help them re-establish a connection that had been broken.

First Fragment Found

Going through Celie’s things in the basement — letters, family trees, photos — Silas opens a very old envelope, finds the letter inside and tucked in its folds, a small triangular photo. The letter is in French and so are the snippets of writing on the back of the photo. Silas quickly realizes that the picture is actually a fragment of a larger photo. And this photo is very old. Silas can just make out the date 1809 on the back, but he knows some photo history, and this can’t be right. Or can it?

First Clue to the Second Fragment

In the YouTube Video, the mystery person says Silas needs help to find the photo. He wants people to see these words — LOOK3 YOURSPACE — saying he’s not sure if or when he can get there. Then the following is read:

Look for me,
Look for three.
Your Space is the same,
Where you find my name.

No matter where you are,
Get someone to help if afar.
Take a picture of what you see,
Then send it right away to me.

And then the words: “look for me… June 12 to 14”.

Video continues, saying that to help Silas find the lost photo, participants need to cooperate as a team. The clue solutions are difficult, and you need the power of the group. You need to network.

Silas reminds all that there are Rewards along the way.

Second Fragment Found 

The clues all point to the LOOK3 Charlottesville Festival of the Photograph happening in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA on June 12-14. The public gallery is called YourSpace, and a photo print is found with the word “Silas” on it. Also in the photo is a rainbow and what ends up being the next piece of the Lost Photo. There's also another phrase at the bottom of the print: “top tip: SDFAIR 20th”. Is this the second clue?

Clues to Third Fragment

The photo print line "top tip: SDFAIR 20th" is indeed the first part of the next clue. People realize that this is the San Diego County Fair on June 20, but what about it? A last minute announcement corrects the date to June 22. The final part of the clue appears in a new YouTube video when the mystery man reads this riddle from Silas:

Photography talks,
When photography walks.
12 o'clock is the time,
When you find the sign.

Color Controversies is the name,
Second in line to stay in the game.
Silas is the key,
You are to say: “Silas sent me.”

Third Fragment Found 

The riddle points to a specific seminar about photography happening at the San Diego County Fair on June 22 at 12:00noon where the Third Lost Photo Fragment is revealed and the first part of the next clue given.

Clues to Fourth Fragment

The first part of the clue (from San Diego) points to Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia. The video mystery man spells out the rest of the clue to Fragment #4:

Fourth Fragment Found 

The video instructions lead first to the "focal point" of the Thomas Jefferson's UVA Academical Village: the Rotunda. The numerical clue (316175225) is deciphered to read "Lafayette," which is the bust in the Map Room. In that room are three maps, one of which has a legend titled "Geographical Positions." Lining up the Latitude number (38.00.09) yields the name "CharlottesvilleC.H.," which means the Charlottesville/Albemarle Court House at Court Square where successful participants easily find an historical marker and the "lady with the hat," who greets them at 1:00pm on June 28 with the Fourth Fragment along with stage awards and prizes.

Clues to Fifth Fragment

All clues are pointing to Monticello (the home of Thomas Jefferson) when a last-minute Presidential visit and a premature discovery of the final fragment change the plans. Silas announces that a photo of the courthouse has been posted in the form of a puzzle, and that the puzzle must be solved to move forward with this final stage.

Fifth Fragment Found 

A final puzzle scrambling the 5th Fragment appears on the site. Participants solve the puzzle and answer questions to reveal the Lost Photo in its entirety and complete the mission to Find the Lost Photo.

Lost Photo Made Whole 

Mission Acomplished! Final Points and Prizes Tally

Epilogue

(to come)