Happy Fourth of July!

I can't imagine that Daddy was happy with the composition of this picture. After all, in 1950, this just wasn't how most people holding a twin reflex camera tried to capture a scene.  

However, I am captivated by it. 

These soldiers were very young. My dad was only 22. He had never traveled more than 6 hours away from his home in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I can only imagine how he felt being on a ship headed for Germany.

Hearts, Home, and Hope

One of the first slides I scanned is this image of our grandparent's home.  Built in about 1948, this is the home that served to connect our family members to one another.

Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents all gathered here. Together, vivid memories were created of a family who loved, laughed, worked and played together. For those of us old enough to remember, this was a time and a place that we recall with great fondness.

Illustrated Stories

This is my current project.  Hundreds of family negatives and slides - and only about 15 of them identified.  They were taken in a period between 1930 - 1976 and are in surprisingly good condition. They had been hidden away for over 30 years in a cardboard box on a shelf in my mother's garage. Despite the heat and humidity, they are relatively undamaged. 

Christmas Surprise #1

I've been eager to post the before/after of Christmas projects I was working on, but have had to wait until after all Christmas celebrations have passed since each of these was a surprise!!

Pictures were "snuck" (a universal Christmas activity) out of the unsuspecting surprise recipient's home and brought to me for some repair and restoration; and in this case, just a bit of imagination.

Perfectly Framed

I always appreciate the thoughtfulness of the folks I get to work with, and this was certainly no exception.  The project was brought to me by this gentleman's great-great-(great?)-granddaughter-in-law. She is a librarian, so  it shouldn't have been a surprise that she is  attentive to historical details.  But let's just say, I was impressed!

Flay Day 2012

To celebrate Flag Day (and just for fun), Sarah and I worked together to create some truly fun, vintage-inspired images.

I had borrowed my dad's Army uniform from my sister who has legal, full-time custody.  I had this idea about having my son, David, wear the uniform for a kind of rite-of-passage kind of photo shoot.  David simply wasn't "feelin' it", so I mentioned the idea to Sarah. 

A Little Light Please

Yes, it's been forever since I've posted. Tomorrow I'll begin sharing pictures that illustrate the reason for the long silence, but today I'll reveal the cause:  There was mold in them there Hills' (house).  

Fortunately, it wasn't the dreaded black mold. Nevertheless, anything and everything it touched had to go.  And that has meant a rather intensive and unplanned remodel of  my office and our master bathroom and bedroom.

Every now and then,  however, there was a fun by-product of the remodel.  Since the office was affected (more information on this later) and as an upcycled bookcase began to take shape, I realized I needed a new lamp.

Fabulously, Personally Vintage

 I love vintage styled photo shoots.  However, I see so many these days in which the subject is dressed totally in the photographer's props.  In some cases, the props become the focal part of the photo.  While I still love the look,  I prefer that each element in my photographs have personal meaning to my subject.

Love Is...

It was 1933 and he was 24 when they got married.  That is young by today's standards when marriages are delayed until we graduate from college, begin our careers, and check a variety of things off our to-do-before-we-have-children lists.

Volunteer Orange

 Volunteer.  It can mean "one who enters into or offers himself for a service of his own free will".  It can also mean "growing spontaneously without direct human control or supervision".  It could also refer to the University of Tennessee sports teams. 

Tennessee Vols Orange.  It's bright.  It makes a statement.  It's just not the best color cast for a photograph.  Especially considering that these little boys are from Kentucky!

Welcome Guests

Finally.  Done.  Seems that there was always something that claimed priority over this project, but finally it is complete.  We made the headboard using scrap lumber, batting and foam from Johnson's Fabrics in Bartlett, and this lovely fabric from Premier Fabrics in Germantown, TN.

The picture over the bed was the "inspiration piece" for this room.  The colors are perfect and the price even better...it was scavenged from a pile of trash.  Yes. Seriously. From a pile of trash.