Picture This!
Times Past: Pictures From The Old Family Album
Shutterbug Staff, December, 2006
If there was ever any question that photos keep memories alive it was answered
by the wonderful pictures we received for this month’s Picture This! assignment.
Readers sent us a treasure trove of their family pictures, many accompanied
by stories of those family and friends depicted. As we looked at each one and
read the accompanying text we couldn’t but help think of our family albums,
and how we bring them out during holidays, and even on rainy nights, and savor
the images and tell stories that each picture evokes. What struck us as well
was that we received no “originals,” and all were scanned or reproduced
and printed, a true advantage of the digital age. There were so many great images
that we wish we could show every one, but here’s a sampling.
Budding Photographer |
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David Goldberg wrote, “This is a photo of me in 1950, taken
on our front lawn in Paterson, New Jersey, when I was 5 years
old. I was doing recon for my first shoot. The Speed Graphic was
my uncle’s.”
© 2006, David Goldberg, All Rights Reserved
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Dashing Dad |
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Donna K. Mullins told us, “This picture of my father is
one of my favorites. My mother took this picture and said my dad
looked like a ‘gangster.’ The original was taken with
a Brownie Hawkeye in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. My parents are both
deceased but photos like this one, taken in the late 1940s or
early ’50s, will live on forever.”
© 2006, Donna K. Mullins, All Rights Reserved
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Classic Tour |
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This
photo was sent in by Roy Steiman, who dated the photo 1955 and
said it was made with a Rolleiflex.
© 2006, Roy Steiman, All Rights Reserved
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Found Again |
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James Sadowski wrote, “I started an album back in the 1950s,
but lost track of it in the late ’60s. Early this year one
of my daughters found it in my late wife’s ‘box of
memories.’ She forwarded it to me, unannounced, and needless
to say it brought back many memories. The photo is of my mom,
stepfather, and me. I was 10 at the time.”
© 2006, James Sadowski, All Rights Reserved
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Birthday Party |
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Chris Morrow told us this photo was of her 3rd or 4th birthday
party in 1939 or ’40. “I’m the one frowning
and looking at the camera,” she wrote. “No flash,
sun in the eyes, and we had to stand still! I think my father
forgot to say, ‘Look at the camera.’”
© 2006, Chris Morrow, All Rights Reserved
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Spring Of 1934 |
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Billy King told us that this is a photo of him and his twin sister.
“She with her doll and me with my Buddy L dump truck. The
shot was made with a Brownie camera.”
© 2006, Billy King, All Rights Reserved
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Engagement Photo |
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This photo, sent in by Ostelinda Guncet, was of her parents, Julio
and Rafaela Guncet, made to mark their engagement in 1924.
© 2006, Ostelinda Guncet, All Rights Reserved
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The Winner And New Champion |
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Larry Jessie sent us this photo of himself in a triumphant pose
made on a rooftop in Brooklyn in 1949. He told us that he thinks
the camera was a Brownie Hawkeye.
© 2006, Larry Jessie, All Rights Reserved
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Family In 1944 |
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Marilyn G. Ticknor sent this wonderful photo of herself with her
mother and father, Alma and Hollis Glezen, made in 1944. She noted,
“This was made with Mom’s Kodak Brownie camera, probably
by a relative. I have the negative.”
© 2006, Marilyn G. Ticknor, All Rights Reserved
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The Sims And Foster Families |
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Robert M. Shepard, Jr. wrote, “This picture of the Sims
and Foster families (all related) was taken in Stigler, Oklahoma,
in 1919. I assume it was taken by a professional photographer.
How do I know it was taken in ’19. The several months old
baby in the lower right corner being held by his 12-year-old aunt
is me. I’m 87 years old. My mother is in the upper right
corner. No model releases are available—they are all dead
except me.”
© 2006, Robert M. Shepard, Jr., All Rights Reserved
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Lasting Color |
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Allen Casebolt told us, “This photo of me was taken by my
father in 1937 when I was 3 years old. I believe it was taken
with a 4x5 Graflex. He processed the film and did the printing
himself using either a dye transfer or carbro process. Amazingly,
it has not faded in the last 69 years.”
© 2006, Allen Casebolt, All Rights Reserved
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