flickr.com has several museums now posting photos from their collections, there may be more but these are ones I have found and keep an eye on

a new one  is the Reykjavik Museum of Photography
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reykjavikmuseumofphotography/

George Eastman House
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/

US Library of Congress
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

US National Archives
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/

National Archief of the Netherlands
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/

Powerhouse Museum Collection
http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/

not a museum but some interesting photos
The White House
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/

Washington DC Public Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcplcommons/

State Library and Archives of Florida
http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridamemory/

If you would like to see some fine photographs of people, see the work on flickr by Saul Panzer, his assumed name from the dectective fiction of Rex Stout.  Fresh, relaxed, direct, empathetic portraits. Panzer shows great skill and sensitivity in his work.  Born in 1954. A real pleasure to view. Mostly in black and white.

Saul Panzer was the nom de web of Gunnar Hovgard.  Saul Panzer was an interesting choice. SP is a character in the long series of detective novels written by Rex Stout.  It is interesting that Gunnar chose Saul, a supporting character in the series, not the two main leads, Nero Wolfe or Archie Goodwin.  Panzer is described as virtually unnoticeable on the street, a major plus when tailing people, and as intelligent, experienced and possessing excelllent judgement. Wolfe trusts him without reservation, and Wolfe trusted only a few people.

Sadly Gunnar passed away in the summer of 2009, He was just 58. 

found a group on flickr where flickrfolk post photos of what they carry in their pockets - interesting stuff

my stuff :


[photo made with my Nikon5700, yes I do have three batteries]

the link gets you to the pool

On flickr a pool devoted to 100 year old photos, nearly 4000 of them, so check it out. Use the great slideshow feature and time travel back.

lots of photographs on the subject of Canadian History can be viewed in this flickr pool, see link below

flickr has some amazing photos posted on it....but it also has a zillion groups - some are eccentric and perhaps micro-niche in their speficity (group of photos of hands and feet, discarded food, etc.). 

One group that has a wider slice of life is the rangefinder group. You can see photos of all subjects made with rangefinder cameras.  In the discussion threads you will find facts and opinions about to use these cameras, their strengths and weaknesses.

Over 1,500 members and over 16,000 photos posted.

It is a good group and is worth checking out.  For that matter, all of flickr, even the cat photos can be a lot of fun.