If there is such a thing as the photography gene, I'd guess it runs in my family. My mom has captured every life event of my siblings and I from first car to graduations and every holiday/birthday/lost tooth in-between. It's fantastic to look back on those pictures, especially as now we can compare my brother to his son... de ja vu anyone? But as much as my mom loves photography, she got it from somewhere too. Her mother, of course, my grandma Peg!
Grandma's attic could probably give the Eastman house a run for their money. The sheer volume of photographs is incredible. Every birthday cake, family picnic, even distant cousins I didn't know I had; she has them all cataloged, dated and organized. But do not think these photographs sit hidden in a box or album. Well, some do, but let me show you around a bit.
Photos are every where in Grandma's house. What better way to surround yourself with loved ones? All of the kids, grand kids and great-grand kids near and far, are always within reach. Some photos haven't moved in decades, others get switched around, but mostly, they are just added to. If you ever thought you were "out of wall space," I beg you to think again!
Over the years, grandma has used all kinds of cameras from the Kodak Brownie to Twin Lens Reflex to Polaroids. (Most of those cameras have ended up in my collection!) My mom recently told me how grandma was so impatient to see her photos, that when she had a few shots left on her roll of film, she would just take random photos so she could go develop them! Grandma needed the digital age, but she never liked her digital camera. Instead, she has reverted back to one time use cameras.
She gave the gift of photography to my mom as well. When my mom was pregnant with my brother, kid #1, grandma bought her a nice SLR camera and told her to capture everything. That camera was a fully manual 35mm that my parents went to classes to learn how to use. It's a testament to how much my grandma loves her family and how important photographs are.
My grandma is not a professional photographer, but she loves photography. That trickled down to my mom and to me and I'm sure photography will continue to be important to the next generation as well.
Thanks for letting me show you off grandma :) Love you! -Lori