Picturetelling!

P + S: Is it Dishonest?

I read the story of the New York Nets game program with interest.  In case you don't follow pro basketball or celebrity travel to Russia, apparently the picture of the team was altered to erase players no longer with the team, and to include new guard Sasha Vujacic--by pasting his head on the body of former Net, Terrence Williams.

What do you think about that? 

It brought to my mind the current commercial where the mom of kids roughhousing during a family photo decides to paste smiling faces on each child before distributing the picture to friends and family.  That fabrication bothers me, even if it is just to advertise the availability of such a photo-fixing capability.  Yet I didn't mind the old commercial that showed how easy it was to transform a girl's head shot into an angel; that was sweet, and most important, not an attempt to deceive.

Of course there's been much written about altered beauty magazine covers; another practice I disdain.  Jamie Lee Curtis is my hero for exposing the reality behind the glamorous photo spreads, in More magazine.

But back to the basketball program.  What do you think about the photo?  Was it dishonest, or just practical, from a p.r. standpoint?  And would you alter family pictures to "perfect" the image of your family?

From my point of view, In the TV commercial about The Cloud, the original family picture has a story to go with it.  The description of sibling inattention, boredom, and rivalry is the more interesting and candid impression to share with others IF it's accompanied by a clever caption that doesn't embarrass.  I feel the same about the basketball program.  The original picture has a history.  The new alteration is just fake, so it's an empty depiction of a team that may as well be lifeless paper dolls.

As you know, I think P + S is best!  ~Donna

 

 P + S is best! ~Donna

 

P + S: What Tennis Can Lead To

THE SETUP

Do you have a favorite sport that you play often?

• Do your friends say you personify the sport?
• How does playing it make you feel? 
• What is your history of involvement with the game? 
• What special moments do you associate with your sport?

Any of these topics offer opportunities for entertaining and illuminating p + s.  People want to know these things about you.  Details about you add so much to a scrapbook or a photo album and draw people to it--they enjoy learning exclusive tidbits about you.  Combining a picture or pictures with a story is one of the most compact ways to leak a little bit of your uniqueness.  You can succinctly tell your pictures with appropriate emotion.

Captions and narratives are traditional, but rhymes, haiku, limericks, repetition, and acrostics are a few alternative writing forms that can connect seemingly unrelated photos with modest or gutsy, earth-shattering or lightweight, self-exposure.

 

THE (SEEMINGLY UNRELATED) PICTURES

 
 
  
THE STORY

With apologies to Fleetwood Mac (Hear their song Monday Morning)

MONDAY (TENNIS) MORNING (or what tennis can lead to)

Monday morning you sure look fine.

All weekend I've had tennis on my mind

7:30, Craig and I are on Court 3

He's slowly pacing practice balls to me.

When Gib gets there, I'm on my own.

The ball machine is looming like a throne.

Forehands/ backhands/missed volleys/ steady feed.

My strokes are crap!

whoa... they're just crap...damn!  I’ll drill

every day if you want me to, skip

exercise I could choose to do,

Got to get some skill in my game.

9:30, you sure look fine.

It seems to me Court 7 can be mine.

My percentage of decent serves is good.

I’d keep this up in Flights if I could.

When Craig joins me to hit some more

We volley, ‘cause my skill with them is poor.

Hits me forehands, and I hit them down the line--

I feel alive! Yeah...

10:45! (so soon) So I  

hit with Craig just 5 minutes more,

I'm "practiced-out"; been all over this floor

Gotta get my butt to that side.

Women’s Flights, just my second time;

Everyone’s polite when I miss mine.

I make new friends, even though I rarely score

At Noon I’m really ready for the door.

All this tennis in just one day

Has wrecked my feet in such a painful way.

Need a rubdown, and those hot towels ‘round my legs

A pedicure! Oh, man!

10 dollars more --for hands, so….

Feet get soaked in soapy pails,

Tennis leads to painted nails!

Got to treat myself this way, more!

 

THE PICTALE

 

These pictures, cropped and positioned with lined and decorative paper backgrounds, make a fun spread accompanied by the song lyrics, across two pages of an 8.5 x 11.5   Heritage Makers book. 

 

 

Does it seem like a funny topic to put into a book?  The detail is what makes it entertaining!  A story like this tells us how the subject spends leisure time, and how she feels about it.  This spread will give her grandkids more insight into her background and personality than just a statement that, "Craig and I loved to play tennis."  Could you answer these questions? 

• Is she a skilled tennis player?
• Does she play outdoors? Indoors? At a tennis club?
• How long does she play on Monday mornings?
• Why does she stop playing with her husband? (2 different times)
• Is she happy with the way she plays? What is her best stroke?
• Does she have endless stamina?
• What's her favorite remedy for pain?

 

DO SHARE!

What's one interesting fact or story you would want others to know (or would let others find out) about your involvement with sports? If you send your story in an email with a picture to donna@sharefamilystories.com, I'll put it in a future blog post.  Otherwise, we can be content with a posted comment--I think you have to click on the word "comment" at the end of this post. 

P + S IS BEST! ~Donna

 

 

 

P + S: Rose Bowl Allegiance

THE PHOTOS

    

THE SET-UP

Oregon residents are ecstatic that the University of Oregon Ducks made it to the Rose Bowl this year!  Everyone, where I live, is behind Oregon today!  ...And I'm an Ohio State graduate, and fan.

THE STORY

It may look like I'm wussing-out by hanging my OSU sweatshirt and UO colors together--afraid that my house would be egged if show my allegiance to the Buckeyes--but the truth is, I'm interested in this game, and I'll be happy for the team that wins as long as it's a good game.  I'm always excited by Ohio State football, and this year I'm also caught up in the local frenzy of Oregon pride.  So, GO BUCKS! GO DUCKS!  Play well and take it down to the wire--make it a good game!

Why tell the story?  It's a snapshot of a special day in Oregon sports history, which could be misinterpreted by my friends and neighbors today, and mean nothing when my grandchildren find it.  Is it important?  Probably not to preserve; my grandchildren don't need to know that I didn't care who won the Rose Bowl in 2010.  But I'm sharing it on my facebook page today so people understand that I'm rooting for a good game, and I'm excited for BOTH TEAMS!

Happy New Year!  Be safe.  And when you take your pictures today or you upload your pictures from last night's festivities, consider making a digital scrapbook storybook so you can give the pictures some personality with details about the people, places, and events you felt like capturing in photos.  Heritage Makers has several ways you can document your New Years celebrations, as do Snapfish, Shutterfly, My Publisher, Walgreens.com, and other sites.  I can help you decide how to showcase your pictales if you email me.

P + S is BEST!

~Donna