Here’s to dads. Here’s to the patriarchs who helped us start our stories. Here’s to the father-figures who inspired us to keep writing our life stories, one step at a time. In honor of father-figures everywhere, we’re celebrating dads all week. My remarkable father, who I miss every day, would have turned 100 this summer. […]
Photographs are keys to unlocking family history. They enable us to marvel at strong family resemblances and they remind us to laugh when we see ancestors making silly faces (selfies aren’t a new trend). For me, one particular photo opened the door to my career passion. It’s a picture of me at age three, wearing a dirty lifejacket on a boat ride. I laugh every time I […]
Photographs mark significant moments in our life, our family and our history. But the power of photos goes beyond capturing moments; photos have the power to evoke emotions. Our family photos prompt memories and catalyze conversations. Even when a snapshot seems mundane and casual, it can be beautiful and significant. Each of our family photos, no matter how imperfect, evoke emotions that resonate […]
Last Thanksgiving, my partner Jack and I sat at his grandparents’ dining room table and stared out at a sea of strangers. These strangers were not our dinner guests; they were the fading and crinkled faces on hundreds of old photographs spread over the table. They poured out of shoeboxes and albums, across a plastic plaid […]
All of the events that happened and choices that were made to get me to where I am today amaze me. This is a photograph of my mom at 12. As her daughter, I can see all the weight of her future in this image. This was before JFK was assassinated, before she protested Vietnam, […]
Meet my mother Shirley. She was sixteen when this photo was taken (image on left). About five years ago, my sister and I began to notice our 85 year old mom was beginning to struggle with short term memory loss, which caused her to feel anxious and frustrated. Our visits became increasingly difficult and stressful. […]
I just can’t help dreaming of road trips; it must be in my blood! That’s my Grandma Jeanne and my two aunts heading out west in the late 40’s. My grandpa Aug took tons of pictures, a need which I also seem to have inherited. The thing that strikes me most when I look at […]
My mom was diagnosed and hospitalized with schizophrenia when I was very young. She remained hospitalized until passing away 10 years ago. I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked, well not in the traditional sense, but I knew her well through stories shared in my family. The few childhood memories I […]
This week was my MeMe’s birthday. Here she is, young and beautiful, with her sister. MeMe passed away in 2001 at the early age of 61, just a couple of weeks after she was diagnosed with Leukemia. I’m a photographer, so photos are a big part of my life. I don’t have many pictures of […]
Remember you are a gatekeeper to unique family stories. When you ask questions and kickstart a conversation, you reveal why every family should take time to talk about their old analog photos. While we were together for Easter Sunday this year, I asked my grandmother to pull out some photographs of my mother as child. The […]
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