Bringing The Past And Present Together In A Photograph

This week I am challenged to photograph my family in a unique way.  The timing of this project couldn't be more perfect.  As I blogged about it earlier, I am going through all of the boxes in my garage to either donate or sell.  This also means going through boxes and boxes of old photographs.  Many of these photos I haven't seen since I packed them away...whenever that was.

I read an entry on the Lenscratch blog about another site called, Dear Photograph.  This site posts photographs of photographs taken in the past into the present.  I loved the idea and decided to go through the box of photographs I collected to see if I had any from my childhood home taken outside.  I sorted through what I had and found a few taken in the front of the house and in the backyard.  I decided to take a trip to my childhood home to see if I could line up the photographs I had.

I haven't been to this house in over twenty years.  Even though it's only thirty minutes from where I live today, there hasn't been a reason to be in that area.  As I drove near, my instincts took over and directed me to my old home.  Needless to say, it was quite the experience.  Everything seemed so big as a child.  The neighborhood was the same but different at the same time.  I must have been driving about 10MPH in the neighborhood recalling experiences as a child as I approached the house.  I parked, gathered some photos and knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect.

A soft voice behind the door asked, "who is it? who's there?" What do you say to that?  I just said, "hi, I used to live here." She opened the door slowly to see who I was and what I wanted.  I extended the photos and said that I used to live there and wanted permission to take photographs around the house.  I don't think she really understood what I was trying to do but once she saw photos of her home and what it looked like in the 70's and early 80's she smiled and greeted me.  She wanted to see everything I had.  I showed her the photos, identifying myself, neighbors, my mom, grandparents and told her what it was like living there as a child.  She took me out to the backyard to show me what it looked like. I haven't seen that backyard since I was 14.  My father built a koi pond that is still there today.  She said that birds would eat all of the big fish so it's filled with smaller fish.  My dad also loved to take care of his bonsai and all of the plants on the property.  She said that she loves the flowers in the front and loves the koi pond.  She told me to tell him thank you.  He has since passed, but it was sweet to hear.

She saw a photograph of my mother standing next to the olive tree in the front and kept looking at it saying how beautiful my mother is.  I asked her if I could take he photograph and she said yes.  As I snapped it, I noticed her standing in the same way as my mother stood, as well as wearing stripes and jeans (see above).  We chatted for a long time and she even moved her car out of the driveway so I could take photographs and she also let me walk in the backyard to take more pictures.  She even came out with a bag of apples for me to take home.  I am very fortunate to have had this experience.  I will remember it forever.

Letting go of my things gave me much more than I expected.  I am grateful for the fifteen years I had in this home and for the experience I had yesterday.  Even though my father and grandparents are not longer with me physically, I feel them coming back to life through these photographs.  Below are a few I found and recreated.

How did I do it?  There really isn't a trick but just try to line up the photograph with the scene.  It's not as easy as it looks, especially if you are the person holding it and shooting it.  They aren't all perfect, but as perfect as I could get it. These are all straight out of the camera taken with my iphone and point and click.  I would highly recommend this experience to everyone.

One thing I know for sure...life goes by too fast.  Not to get all preachy on you or anything, but try to enjoy all of the moments you have now with your loved ones.  Listen to what your parents and grandparents say, take photographs, appreciate what you have and don't obsess about the things you don't have.

Me and my grandmother, "Mama Lois" in the backyard

With all of the kids on the block on our first day of school

All of us on our way to school

Being silly in front of the camera

Leaving on our family road trip.  That's my mother, me, my brother, grandmother "Mama Lois", and grandfather "Big John."  My dad took the photo.  Yes, we all got in that car and drove from Los Angeles to Vancover, B.C.

The backyard, then and now

My brother and I

My close neighbors, Carrie, Sandy and Chris the first day of school.

Riding a pony on the front lawn.  A guy with a pony would walk around the neighborhood asking if you wanted to take a photograph on it.

Me with my really sweet haircut in my extra cool swim sweats

My mom, haming it up in her satin pants

Me holding our family cat, colors

First day of school (seems like the only time we took photographs in the front)

And finally, on my big wheel.  I loved this thing...jumped on it right when I got home from school every day.

A Good Bye Gathering And A Family Reunion Portrait

I went for the ride and joined a gathering for a good bye party and a reunion of sorts.  Since I was a passenger, I really had no idea where I was but I believe I was somewhere in the state of Massachusetts.

I thought a going away party would be around 20 people at the most, sitting around chit chatting about the weather or what was going on in everyone's lives.  Well, yes...people were chit chatting but I was taken back on how many people were there.  Then I started asking who everyone was and for the most part, everyone was related!

 I can count all the direct members of my family on one hand.  I am not used to a family gathering that looked like this!  I asked how everyone knew each other and the response typically went like this: "that is my cousin and those are her kids and that guy next to her is my cousin's husband and that kid is his son but the other kid next to his belongs to my cousin's aunt who is over there talking to my other cousin's sister in law."

As complicated as it sounded, I think questions would have added to the mix of complications so I nodded as my brain tried to mix and match kids with parents with siblings with parents.

I met Anne Maxon last year while I was in Boston and she has such a beautiful family so I wanted to take a portrait of her, her husband and their four beautiful children.  Her kids are naturals.  We walked behind the house and I pointed to the ground on where to stand and as soon as I put the camera to my eye, they were all smiling and posing.

Later in the evening, the entire family started gathering together to take a group portrait.  I heard one woman say, "there is a photographer that is going to take our family picture." Instantly, I was excited to see who was going to take their picture to meet the photographer and talk about pictures but I soon realized that everyone was looking at me.  I was the photographer they were referring to.  I haven't taken many group portraits, especially this size but I was willing to snap away.  I then took a group photo of the kids in the family which was challenging.  Lucky for me, I had the parents behind me snapping their fingers and clapping away to get the attention of their kids to look at them.

Everyone at the event was very kind to me about my photographs.  I was thrilled to be approached by people I've never met before to tell me they enjoy viewing my images. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the family, if only for a little while.