Thursday, June 2, 2011

scanning the generations


 i've been at my parents' home all this week. when my grandmother passed away last summer, i desperately hoped i would inherit the photos. i had no idea just how many photos there were! i didn't actually inherit them, but i did win the job of scanning them all and putting them into a photo book. i've been scanning photos 10 hours a day, i'd guess, for the past three days.. sitting at the computer, talking to my dad about the stories, learning about my rich family history. it's been precious. as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, all my life i've heard how important family is, and this is just one more example of that truth. my great grandparents were very keen on taking photos and that love was passed down to my grandmother. there are hundreds of photos of my grandmother as a baby, child, teen, mother, and grandmother. my great grandfather passed away when my nana was a child, so double thanks go out to my great grandmother for making sure the stories kept going despite her loss. women in my family love deeply, she never remarried and always spoke lovingly of bill. she missed him so much.

when i started taking pictures, it was always tough to get nana in a picture. she didn't like to be in front of the camera. it was like a gift from above if i could get a photo of her at a family gathering. but now, sitting here, scanning hundreds of photos of her lovely face, i can forgive her. i'm so thankful for these photos. here are a few of my favorites:






i'll share more later. i'm a little shell shocked. lots of scanning will do that to you.


5 comments:

Cynthia Baldwin said...

I hear you on the scanning! My dad is turning 80 this weekend, and Mom gave me a couple of albums of older pics of him so that we could put together some sort of photo presentation at his party.
I don't have nearly as many photos (10 hours a day?! oh my!), but it's taken me a long time to go through the process.
But - what you're doing is SO worthwhile! Capturing all those photos and memories is a true family treasure.

*Paula* said...

They are awesome photos Em. I'm not so lucky on the photo front -- I can't locate ANY photos of my grandparents prior to 1940 :(

Anilú Magloire said...

Such great pictures! I have been doing the same with my family's and I love the process and all the stuff one learns.
Have fun!

kL said...

what a gift all of those photos are
she was so beautiful em
just like you ;)
x0x

Anonymous said...

Oh, Em! What a blessing for you!!! I love the photos, as well as the stories you shared. So happy you were able to capture all of these for yourself, as well as the future generations of you family. That is such a gift.