Picturetelling!

P + S: The Basics of P + S. Bloggers Who "Get It"

 

THE SETUP

Pictures and Story.  P and S.  They're both key to preserving your memories for generations to come.  Today I'm featuring some other bloggers that "get it".

An interesting note: Some of these pictorials are made by professional photographers, but in most of these blogs, the photographer is just like me (and maybe you)--a nonprofessional who wants to save the daily moments that may SEEM insignificant, but that add up to a life really lived.  Lived, not only through big events, but through observation; a child's discovery, a pet's expression, the colors and scenes of a landscape, the pleasure of a finished craft, the visual memory of a tranquil walk with a loved one.

 

THE PICTURES

Ah...the pictures are embedded today--you'll have to click on the links, but you won't be disappointed!

 

THE BLOGGERS (and their blogs)

A popular theme on the internet right now is 365 days of photos.  These women have the right idea: they're documenting the moments in their photos, and not just reiterating what we can see. 

http://jennielyse.com/project-365-week-4/

http://www.ayearofhappy.com/

http://pencilshavings.typepad.com/pencil_shavings/

http://jlangeimages.blogspot.com/

Though not strictly a daily photo-log, Tracy posts remembrances of little moments we can all relate to (or wish we could) almost daily at http://www.pinkpurl.typepad.com/slant_of_light/

 

How-to's scream for both P and S--we need to see how something is made (pictures do it best), and what it's going to look like, but we also need to have it explained to us; probably have the materials identified, thus the story.  I enjoy these blogs because I know there's enough information available to copy the craft.

http://pinkpurl.typepad.com/pink_purl/2010/05/summer-breeze-quilt.html

http://paperimagerydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/fabric-atcs-by-arlene-mobley.html

http://nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion/

http://jonag.typepad.com/stop_staring_and_start_se/2008/07/a-little-bias-is-a-good-thing.html

 

THE BASICS OF P+S

As I wrote in my very first post, in July, 2009:

    Pictures are good.

    They capture a moment; freeze an image in time.  But not only can the memory be lost, it can be reconstructed...inaccurately...

    Pictures + Story are better.  Story doesn't just explain a long forgotten picture, but it can help us relive a whole event, day, even season.

P and S is best!

~Donna

P + S: Write With Your Voice

THE SETUP

My friend mentioned a storybook she wants to make about family members, but she expressed doubt about her writing style. If she's feeling that way, then she's not alone. I'm going to try to relieve your anxiety about picturetelling your own memory book.

 

THE PICTURE

How would you describe this picture if you were telling the story to someone? 

 

THE STORY-- NATURALLY

1.  In a family storybook, people will be comfortable with your conversational tone as the text.  Imagine you are telling Aunt Gladys about this picture--help her experience the event:

"We had the most wonderful carrot cake for Ryan's first birthday, with loads of creamy frosting, but do you see any of it in his mouth?  He just had a blast smooshing it between his fingers!  He's about to cry because he's gonna lose his birthday hat--he's trying to keep it on his head."  You might change "gonna" to "going to"...or you might not.

 

2.  Are you a jokester? :

"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND SURRENDER THE BIRTHDAY CAKE!"

 

3.  It's OK if you take a less animated tone:

"June 8, 1985 was a miserably hot and humid day in Columbus, but I think Ryan was just glad we didn't make him wear his special birthday outfit. Grandma and Grandpa and his favorite uncle were here to celebrate his first birthday (and help him finish that cake)!   

 

4. Sometimes a quote evokes the moment quite nicely: 

"Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world." ~Unknown

 

5. You can use remarks by the subject instead of your own narration (which in this case would probably just be "Mommie?")

 

6. Emote:

"Honey, you were SOOO cute at your first birthday!  Just as "SWEET" as ever!"   

 

My point is, when you're preserving a special (or even an ordinary) event in a custom storybook that will be enjoyed by family and loved by the subject, the story needs to sound like you.  Push all pretense out the door and don't stress!  Just talk your text, tell your picture, write with YOUR voice.

WHY BOTHER TO WRITE THE STORY?

Well, when you take the picture, you must want to preserve the memory for someone--yourself, the subject, absent friends and family, to use in an embarrassing video montage someday....  Do you want your FB friends to supply their own details?  Do you really trust yourself to remember the small stuff years from now? 

 

Pictures alone invite speculation; imagine finding a box of your grandmother's pictures.  Your heritage is a precious gift that you have the power to convey to your descendents.  Maybe the rich details of your ancestors' pictures will remain mysteries, but you can make sure that your children and their children know all about their roots in YOU, and you can make their experiences more memorable by using pictures and stories.  P and S.

YOUR TURN!

I'm offering up this picture to all of you to write your own pictale.

You weren't there, so of course, you'll have to make something up!  No rules--except write with your own voice.  I think the statute of limitations has run out on this picture--he's 25 now and shouldn't mind!

Write your pictale or caption as a comment and I'll give you a free Heritage Makers invitation(2-sided postcard) to create!  Have fun!  Tell your friends to contribute a tale!

P + S is best! ~Donna

 

Cute picture, what's the story?

It's been a beautiful Memorial Day weekend so far, in Forest Grove, OR, and this seems like the right picture to feature as we honor all the servicemen and women who are no longer living.  The picture seems obvious, but wouldn't it be nice to know the backstory?

 

I'd like to know the backstory, and guess what? 

That's my firstborn! 

He'll be 25 in a few weeks, and I just found this picture in a box of old miscellaneous photos. 

I took the picture so long ago, that I can't remember what led to it.

Oh, there are clues to the backstory:

• The house tells me where we were living in Columbus, OH, and that narrows his age down to two or three. 
• He's holding a flag and wearing red and white.  Maybe we went to a parade.
• He looks like he's saluting...or shielding his eyes.  But he is looking up at the flag...isn't he?
• It's probably the fourth of July because it looks so warm.  But in Ohio, it could be the end of May...or even June 14, Flag Day.
• Where's evidence of other people?  If he was two, then his sister was a newborn, and wouldn't be mobile.  If she was one, she would have been hot on his heels and wobbly!  This may have been a spontaneous moment, or he may have been showing Mommy, Daddy, Gramma and PawPaw how to salute the flag.

Does it matter?  Maybe not, but it can be, at best, boring to keep making the same observation through a stack of pictures--"Awwwww, so cute...", and at worst, frustrating to be the mom, for heaven's sake, unable to recall a son's special action or the day that spawned such a touching picture.

"Pictures without stories are memories lost" ~ Sharon Murdoch, Heritage Makers founder

I'm living proof of that.  

But I'm doing something about that in my household...and you can too.

Pictures are good.  They capture a moment; freeze an image in time.  But not only can the memory be lost, it can be reconstructed...inaccurately...to mythic proportions, (which I was tempted to do.) 

Pictures + Story are better.  Story doesn't just explain a long forgotten picture, but it can help us relive a whole event, day, even season.

P and S is best!

We can all avoid this kind of sad situation by jotting down the events that trigger our enthusiasm to preserve an image.

One idea is to get a notebook or a memo pad and literally jot down just a few details, names, and the date as you snap a set of pics.  Then include your notes or an expanded write-up in your scrapbook, brag book, or label (on the computer).  Here's one example of a journal created just for the purpose of remembering to tell family stories.

However you do it, don't get caught 24 years later with a great picture to show your child and no related story to share.  P + S is best!

~Donna

  

Official Launch of Picturetelling! Blog, Sat. 5/23/09

Are you using P + S to communicate your personal priorities?  Do people know what's important to you?  Do people know who's important to you?  Do you want people to KNOW what's happpening when they SEE what you're doing? 

Saturday, Picturetelling! officially launches to start helping you show AND tell the things you want others to remember.

See you then!  

~Donna

P + S is best!