We’ll see how long I can keep this new series going. I’m determined, but, you know, sometimes things don’t work out. I am not a professional photographer but I do like taking pictures, and I have them scattered through archives on Flickr, on Facebook (gotta get them OFF that hellsite). I am Gen X so most of my photos are still – to this day – ACTUAL photos that I had to go and get developed, and sit in photo albums. I’ve scanned much of it. Anyway, thought it might be fun – for me at least – to pull out a photo every day, at random, and post it. Maybe say a little something about it. Engage with my own capacious archive, in other words. Some photos I have fiddled with – using filters etc. – some are straight from the camera.
Here’s the first one: I took this picture out my bedroom window at my old apartment. I lived across from a school and I could see the American flag from out my bedroom window. If it was windy, you could hear it flapping and whipping around in the breeze. I always liked looking out the window and seeing it.
This was taken at sunrise. Half of the sky was dark clouds, the other half was golden-gleam-y, which you can see in this photo. Plus, there was a strong wind, which adds to the drama.
It seemed appropriate to post it today. It fills me with feeling.
Again, let’s see how long I can keep this up. It’ll be fun for me, at any rate.
Hey Sheila,
Have you ever seen John Ford’s “The Battle of Midway”? There’s a marvelous moment when the Stars and Stripes is rung up the flagpole as the battle rages on. The narrator (Irving Pichel who also narrated “How Green Was My Valley”) intones “Yes, this really did happen…” I’m more of a scoundrel than a patriot, but it gives me chills…
Your moving pictures really resonated with me, because besides books, CDs, etc., I’ve still got LPs. Heck, I’ll put on “The Sun Sessions” in your honor right now. Hope the move goes smoothly enough.
Biff – hey!
// I’m more of a scoundrel than a patriot, but it gives me chills… //
Yes, I know just the moment you mean!
and in re: my move – I’m jealous that you still have LPs! Blast those Sun Sessions! Nothing quite like them! Like I said in another thread, I really regret getting rid of my physical music – all the CDs – and moving to iTunes. It makes me very nervous. My whole music collection – started when I bought my first record at age 12 – is basically subject to the WHIMS of a corporation. Too late to take it back now!
Thanks for the good wishes!
Old photos, we keep them for a reason. Every year at the end of September I pull out my mother’s shoe box of snapshots to find a good picture of my brother and post it to FB on is birthday. He committed suicide in 1992 so you can imagine how emotional this process is. I never remember the day he died but always remember the day he was born.
My mother’s shoe box is full of faded snapshots taken with one of those brownie box cameras. Some of those pictures are of people I don’t know, friends of my parents from the early years of their marriage. They are echos of her life as a young woman, many taken before I was born. Some, through the little notes she wrote on the back of the older snapshots capture moments of hope and joy – “12 days old, I think she likes me!” or “grandmother holding the noisy one.” Love notes from a ghost.
I like scanning and posting old pictures of family, usually they give rise to great discussions with family members who I haven’t seen in forever because we have all scattered across the country. Sometimes they cause a kerfuffle-I argue with an aunt every year at Thanksgiving over a picture of my mother, grandmother and someone who is in between them-she says it’s me I say it isn’t me because I took the darned picture, but so it goes in families :)
Anyway-I just wanted to say-I love the idea of your picture of the day. One of these days I’m going to scan all those old photos and the negatives before they fade to nothing
Kim – this is such a beautiful and personal comment. I really love your thoughts here and how you word them. Yes. Photos are so important. I am very sorry about your brother.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you for your blog site! -there is nowhere else I would’ve felt it was ok to post such a comment. Of course I found your site when I started watching Supernatural but I stayed for the rest.
Supernatural fans are the best fans. Well … the sane ones are, anyway. lol Very glad you found your way here.