Family

I’ve got a thing for family. That sounds kind of odd now that I’ve gone and typed it … but it’s true. I like almost everything about family. The history, the drama, the kookiness, the togetherness, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

For the past year or so, I’ve been looking into our family’s past. I think it’s important for us to know how and where we’ve come from and we are getting to the point where many of our “primary sources” are starting to be of an age where they no longer remember things as they once did. If we don’t do it now, there will be many things lost forever.

So, I’ve been painstakingly trying to harness the collective memory. It’s been both frustrating and exciting!

I started with a group of folks I knew well – or thought I did. The stories behind the photos – the life stories – are captivating and quirky and real. And, they make me love these folks even more than I already did.

my great grandfather, my grandfather, and his brother there's a story here

my grandmother and her brother

Recently, we attended a family reunion and I was able to meet a whole branch of the family tree for the very first time. Having these folks in one place led me to a treasure trove … of both family and memories!

Aren’t these folks stunning in their best attire? This marriage led to Husband being here on this earth – without it, he doesn’t exist. It’s stunning when you think about it from that perspective. Stunning and humbling.

As we met folks that day, looked at old pictures, and chatted about all sorts of things, I was struck by the continuity of it all.

my father-in-law and his sister - he hasn't changed a bit!

Generation to generation – some things different, many things the same. And it’s part of everything we are now and everything we will be.

Right There in Black and White

I have a soft spot for black and white photographs. There’s just something about the “lack of color” that allows a good black and white to tell a story in a way that color shots just can’t mimic. So, when Beth threw down the black and white gauntlet this past week, I was pretty pumped.

This challenge is all about processing in these days of digital. The good shot is really the starting line … and it can be a long way to the finish. That said, a good shot is really where it all begins.

For this week, I decided I wanted to play a lot with the different ways to covert to black and white. I decided that I wanted to start with a picture of a building that, if photographed when built, would have been photographed in black and white. I took a short tour of a nearby town and shot this. This was my original shot.

I processed these in Photoshop Elements using standard tools … except for the last. On the final shot I used a free brush to get the marks and scratches. The first thing I did was straighten the shot using the straightening tool. Then the fun began.

desaturated color using hue/saturation tool

adjusted color using remove color tool

color removed with convert to black and white tool - scenic landscape

color removed using tonal adjustment

removed color with convert to black and white tool - newspaper

If you want, you can see an actual black and white shot of St. Mary’s Catholic Church from a local historical society. If I was going for realism, this newspaper setting seems to be the closest!

But, “real” isn’t necessarily part of the challenge so…

aged photo

To age my photo, I started with a black and white created with the convert to black and white tool set to scenic landscape. I added a border, noise, and scratches to make it appear old and well looked at. Then I adjusted the black and white tones one last time. I also find a nice handwriting font to “write” on the border … just for fun!

So, here’s what I learned/confirmed.

1. The way that you convert a color digi shot to black and white matters – a lot.
2. It’s helpful to know what look (purpose) you are going for before you convert.
3. It’s not difficult to make a photo look old but it helps to envision in your mind what type of environment “the photo living in” so that you can scratch and mark it realistically.

Strangely enough, my favorite from this set is the one that’s technically not black and white. I really like this shot desaturated. I also really like how the aging turned out. Although, when I do it again, I’ll start with a lighter black and white shot.

In the process, I discovered about 4 more processes related to black and white processing that can make my photos look better at the end of the day. Now, I just have to practice!

Head on over to Beth’s to see how other folks stepped up to this challenge!

It’s a Page Turner

I’m always pleasantly surprised when something in my present life tugs on threads from the past. My heart gets full when I see patterns and connections. There is something real in the patterns – something that’s random and wild, yet predictable.  Those tugs feel like little moments of coming home again.

The other night, Little Man and I were talking about what he’s learning at school. He’s getting closer and closer to kindergarten and his preschool teachers are really doing a good job with readiness skills. One of the things they are doing is reading and talking about A LOT of books. [His teacher LOVES the library and talks about books and reading all the time ... heart is singing here!]!

Little Man is excited about the books they are reading – especially one. A chapter book about a little girl in kindergarten – one Miss Junie B. Jones. [Little kids are soooo cute when they say chapter book ... there's awe in every word. I love it!]

The mention of the Junie B. series made me all warm and fuzzy inside.  See, about 15 years ago, I read the Junie B. series to my students and we all fell in love with her – and Barbara Park, the author. My students and I couldn’t get enough of  her books. We bought out the book fair and emptied piggy banks when the Scholastic Book orders went around. It was a reading frenzy. I loved it. We loved it. It was a true reading community – amazing things happened.

About 10 years ago, I had the absolute privilege of meeting Barbara Park in person. She was doing an on-camera appearance in the studios where I worked. She was there to talk to students about reading and writing – her work.

Just before her visit to the studio, it was discovered that many of the folks in our little production group weren’t familiar with her books. So, I spent an hour a day reading them out loud in our cube area. By the time Ms. Park arrived, everyone knew Junie B. and loved her. [Yep, there's a pattern here. If you don't know these books, you should get to know them!]

After the shows, she sat and talked to a few of us about writing and teaching. I didn’t get much work done that day … in fact, maybe none.  She was wonderful and gracious and delightful to talk to. [Grown-ups are sooo cute when they talk about meeting amazing authors who "get it" and are willing to talk about it ... there's awe in every word.]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since I’ve spent time with Junie B. So, I was excited when Little Man brought her home. And, last night, some 15 years after first meeting Junie B., I passed on my collection of her stories to my Little Man. It was good.

Tonight, he and I read about Junie B., that Grace, Mrs., Lucille, and Meanie Jim. None of them have changed much in all this time. Junie B. is still her silly, honest, ornery old self. She hasn’t aged a bit … not one. And I love that.

Little Man can’t wait to read on! My old friend has captivated my son … I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Practice Makes … Ummm

Husband and I received our practice ballots in the mail recently. Let me just say that I’m a huge fan of these little wonders full of election jargon. Big fan.

See, I’ve tried to vote “cold” – you know, read the ballot for the first time when I step into the booth. While America as we know it didn’t end, I didn’t exactly hold up my end of the civic duty bargain. It was sort of the equivalent of phonin’ it in! Probably didn’t make those behind me in line too happy either.

Now, this post may be political as I’m gonna get in a public forum. Don’t worry, I don’t think you’ll need to turn the children away. As a matter of fact, I think I’d like everyone to pass this on!

I think I’ll jump into this with one of my more controversial political statements of the season. I don’t think this is “the most important election of our generation”. Yep, it’s true. I think the importance of this whole thing is a chip dip combination of media hype mixed with more than a little well-justified nervousness. Makes for yummy news coverage and lots of drama.

Yes, it’s true that we are very likely to elect either the first African-American president or the first female vice-president. The fact that this is true makes this election historic and, well, very cool.  (By the way, I say likely here because, according to my practice ballot, there are choices other than Obama and McCain. Who’s dissecting everything they say? Why weren’t they debating?)

Most important though? Ummm … not so much, I think. I have quite a few very politically active friends and I know this election is putting everyone on “high alert”. It’s actually been fascinating. Still, most important? …  sorry, not so much.

Here’s my thing. I think EVERY election is the most important election of any given generation. Why? Because, frankly, nobody has one clue what is going to happen in the future. Nobody knows how anyone running for election will repond to whatever the world throws their way (in quiet moments, I think all but the cockiest of candidates would tell you that truth). Nobody knows how well the combination of winners will work together in the highs and lows of this whole thing (there’s a rant for later in that statement).

Bottom line? Nobody knows. So, if we don’t stand ready to reconsider what we “know”, where we are, and how we got there? … well then we are in for one well-deserved smack right in the kisser. I think that’s the importance of this  and every election - consideration, thought, study, and THEN action. The order of that list is important.

In every time of choice, people choose to participate or abdicate. Yep, those are the ends … there’s a lot going on in the middle! But the point is that there are ripple effects to the choices each of us make (and I’m not just talking about the selections made in the voting booth). 

Where an individual falls on the participation continuum is a personal choice made for any number of reasons. Not voting doesn’t necessarily signal apathy any more than rabidly campaigning signals full participation in the system. The choices and the reasons behind them are just as telling as who we elect – and are maybe even more important for our furture successes.

So, I’m practicing. I’m reading and considering all manner of legislation and amendment options. I’m reading all about candidates who claim they know what to do to fix ________ (insert mess or perceived mess here). I’m looking at patterns and history and, yes, character. It all plays a role. I’m filling out my ballot so that I’ll be prepared when it’s time to give my opinions. Hopefully, they’ll be educated.

I’ve got no delusions (wait, yes I do, but they aren’t political in the slightest). Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect here. That’s OK. Because my personal grade in this civics lesson is all about participation!