Posed portrait shots are great – but generally I'd have to say my favorite shots are snapshots. Those are the shots that record how we live our lives. The lighting isn't generally perfect and there is often "undesirable" clutter in the background but flash forward 10, 20, 30+ years – it surprised me how much fun it can be to see the background clutter, the old furniture… items long forgotten, etc.
Some of my fond memory snapshots:
1. My Dad in 1959 in Nyssa OR. – Several years ago my mom sent me a packet. This (photo above) was one several photos I received. I wasn't born until many years after this photo was taken, but, the shelf in the background was a fixture in our home for many years. Last I knew my sister had it in her home. It was fun to see the shelf and the encyclopedia's that we constantly thumbed though sitting on the top shelf. I think at one point my sister and I used that shelf as "mansion" for our Barbies.
2. Christmas Day in Portland – Not the best photo composition but there is sooo much going on in this snapshot. It's a serious memory treasure for journal prompts.
- My brothers are playing a hockey game my parents purchased as a family gift for Christmas. We had a lot of fun with that over the years.
- I am wearing a dress that I absolutely loved and wouldn't give up – problem is, by the time I am wearing it here – it is so short I am wearing it as a shirt and the long sleeves are now half sleeves.
- In the background you can see so many things like the curtains my mom made – check out the little poof balls as trim!
- and the big red boot on the shelf – we used those instead of stockings. (The big gallon can was Mom & Dad's – the kids were soup can sized.)
- The thing hanging from the ceiling – an example of macrame plant holder – popular in the 70's. and
- The little girl in the background is my niece, Debbi, and
- behind her is a great big picture window – so many memories about that window!
3. A photo of myself on my oldest brother's porch. I can't say I remember that plaid coat – but if you look down at my feet, I totally remember those shoes! I remember going shopping with my mom and my sister to buy the shoes. Clogs were in fashion that year and I wanted to buy white clogs. My mom tried to talk me into a nice pair of leather clogs. But, I wanted nothing to do with them. I had picked out a pair of shiny white clogs. It wasn't long at all before the toes were scuffed and the shiny white surface began peeling off of my shoes. Lesson learned – listen to your mother!
4. Lexi's pink paint. In a more recent example – I am so glad I took photos of Alexis in her bedroom. She picked out the pink paint on her walls. It was so bright that I decided to tone down the top half with a white wash technique. She said it made her walls look like pink clouds – she loved it. Shortly after these photos were taken the walls were painted to a pale sage green – to make a nursery for her new baby brother. (She was not happy about that.)
What kind of journal or page prompts have you stirred up from looking at old snapshots? Add your list to our Life.in.Lists. comments to be entered in our weekly drawing.