Cheese!

The eldest twin loves the new camera almost as much as I do. As soon as he sees it in someone's hands, he makes a rush for the shiny lens while squealing, "Cheese!" This has made for more than a few fun shots. Here he is saying "Cheese!"



Typically I am careful to put the camera down out of the reach of little hands, but I had just taken a few shots when my eldest son needed some homework help so I put the camera on the coffee table, confident that I would be right back to it. Minutes later I heard the eldest twin's sweet little voice calling out, "Cheese!" I was sure that I would turn around to the sight of my camera dragging along the floor with high priced pieces trailing behind it. Instead, my boy was busy composing a still life using my camera and his most priced possession, his cup. If he had known how to take off the lens cap, turn on the camera, and push the button, this is the shot he would have taken:


I took the shot for him and showed him the results. He was immensely proud of himself.



Here is a free shot of the twins. The writing on the wall is the product of the eldest twin; whenever he finds a pencil or crayon, he can be counted upon to sneak off and color something. The younger twin (the big one on the right) always brings me crayons and pencils when he finds them so that I can put them away.




Peace
..._

The 30's and 40's in Color

I came across the Library of Congress's Flickr account today. I was already aware of their significant online collections, but I was astounded at the quality of pictures they have posted on Flickr. They have two collections: News in the 1910s and 1930s and 1940s in color. The color photographs are a beautiful melding of historical content, rich color, and the photographic arts. Color photography was fairly rare during that period, and these offer a stunning mirror of that lost time. The photographers appear to have been more than snapshot takers; many of the pictures rise to the level of art.


The below woman aircraft worker (1942) speaks for itself:

The above photograph is one of my favorites. It is At the Vermont State Fair1941 by Jack Delano. From the matching sets of dresses to the boy in the middle who seems to need to go the bathroom, it is a lovely vignette. I find it interesting that everyone in the family is looking in a different direction as though trying to figure out where to go first, or perhaps waiting for dad and no one notices the photographer. Is the lady in black pregnant with the eighth?


I encourage you to go there, but be warned that there are over 3,000 photographs and you may spend more time there than you intended.



Peace
..._