As I worked on the layout the photo began talking to me (a perfectly normal experience!). The camera in her hands was probably carefully placed there by her father, a professional photographer. Cameras were a rather rare household item at that time, so one would think that her life was well documented on film, right? Well, not exactly.
My grandfather gravitated away from newspaper coverage (of people) and toward wildlife and nature photography. By the time she was 12 his photos rarely featured people, and then usually for scale in landscapes. The family snapshots were taken by, you guessed it, my grandmother!
So even in the days when cameras were considered to belong to the technical man's world, the candid family moments were not only seen, but captured by the women - usually on Brownie box cameras which came on the market in the 1900s! At least that was how it worked in this family anyway!
Women document their families. They write about them. They talk about them. They photograph them. They celebrate them. It seems largely in the domain of the women doesn't it - this task of family identity.
There is something wonderful about celebrating our memories with photos. If we can preserve the memories by writing about those photos, too, then the joy extends. Do you have a favourite photo of your mother? I wonder how many of them are snapshots rather than studio portraits! Perhaps a good exercise this weekend is to find one and write about the memories and feelings that it evokes.
Happy Mother's Day! Celebrate it with a photo memory.
This layout is created with Creative Memories papers and elements from Vintage Romance Digital Kit and Romance Digital Power Palette. Title Font: Kelly. Text Font: VI University.
Lori, this was one of the best Mother's Day posts ever. I really liked how you said women give a family the identity. I've given that some thought as, historically, men get the praise. Hope you had a great Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteTo Kittie Howard who posted:
ReplyDeleteLori, this was one of the best Mother's Day posts ever. I really liked how you said women give a family the identity. I've given that some thought as, historically, men get the praise. Hope you had a great Mother's Day!
I am not sure why blogger did not maintain your comment - although I did receive your kind comment via email notification.
There was an article on this subject in the newspaper this morning - about how history does not often record the female perspective. For many families if the woman doesn't do it, then it is lost. We tend to be the ones most concerned about communication in that regard.