I have tons of photos I inherited from my parents. Lots of duplicates and lots of questions. As much as I loved my Mom and miss her everyday I have to say her photography skills were, well, lacking.
She was a great cook, hostess, friend and never missed a birthday but taking photos were not her strength.
As I look at them I am noticing one thing most of them have in common.
We are often headless, off to one side and in this case only my sister Lisa actually has a head. My face didn’t make it but my legs did!
Mom, even as cameras got better your photography skills did not. If I thought it was intentional I might need therapy but I don’t think it was, at least I hope not.
I could do a whole allbum of headless photos. Sharing it with family, the conversation might go something like this: “I think that is Dad, look at the hairy legs, no wait that’s Aunt Bertha! Look at that shirt, I think that is one of us kids, wait what is that in the background? It’s a shot glass and bottle of bourboon, must be one of grandpa.
Yes the background of those photos speaks volumes and the stories we could tell.
Mom, it looks like you were not alone in your off to one side and headless photography skills since Dad must have taken this one…must be a family trait.
Wow…off to the side, almost headless and pretty much cut one kid in half. That takes skill!
The added benefit of being the keeper of the family photos is, of course, potential black mail as in “Be nice to me or I will post this on Facebook” referring to cute but embarrasing photos of my sister as a toddler on the potty, awkward teenage photos and of course multiple bad hair days, bad hair cuts and really bad fashion choices.
Unfortuantely I rarely get to use that as a bargaining chip as I had a rather long drawn out awkward stage as a young teenager. Actually Im not sure it ever ended but those photos are cringeworthy by anyones standards so while I threaten I can’t act because the payback would be painful and embarrassing.
At some point I am sure my kids and especially my grandkids will be wondering why we took all these “real” photos and why we just didn’t do digital. They have no idea that was our only option for many years. I once gave my youngest grandson a disposable camera and he happily shot several photos but could not for the life of him figure out how to see them. He was so confused. I tried to explain but he thought I was kidding or from another planet.
Amongst the duds are some real treasures which I love and cherish. The laughter that ensues when we look at these is just the best.
So Mom (and Dad) you might not have been the best photographers but we are grateful for what we do have and all the fun times.
As they say…”Thanks for the memories”
As always, keep triing!
Jennifer