In Retrospect
By kaylal on in Scanning Secrets with One Comment
I’m plugging away at those 3,000 images scanned via Scan Cafe. I thought you’d enjoy a peek at my Photo Flow with scanned photos. Everything happens in Lightroom (this could be adapted for other programs) and so far this is the process:
- Crop and Edit to my taste (some images look better in black and white, creamtone, etc.)
- Keyword the images with Who, What, Where, When. I’m finding that I’m adding a lot of new keywords to my list for these earlier years in my life.
- Change the metadata date for the images. Metadata > Edit Capture Time. There is no way to know the exact date so a lot of times I just guess a close date.
- Caption the images. The stories in retrospect – wow!
The thing that surprises me most is how different these photos are in retrospect. Sixteen years ago when they were taken my captions would have been focused on Kate’s age and what she was doing in life then. Now I see stories of the things in our life that seemed so mundane back then:
- The flannel hand quilt I quickly assembled only days before she was born because I wanted her to have a bright and soft blanket. I even tied the edges so they would be scalloped – Troy’s mom taught me how.
- The canning pot I took Kate’s photo in that was purchased at an estate sale for $5 and I still use to make jam today. The house it came from was across the street from ours with a perfectly manicured and beautiful yard. The old couple who lived there were so cute and in love. She would seriously hand trim her grass with scissors. I looked at them so happy everyday and hoped someday Troy and I would be happy like that when we grew old.
- The Ethan Allen love seat my mom gave us. I remember my mom having it custom made with curtains – ties to my childhood home.
- The plaid wallpaper in Troy and I’s first home.
- The wood floors we discovered under yucky carpet right before Kate was born. My sister Jessica and I spent days pulling out carpet staples and nails…
- The golf throw I brought back as a souvenir from a business trip to Jacksonville.
I guess what is surprising me the most about these images are the memories! The photos are like little triggers that help me remember details of everyday life that I had completely forgotten! These details are like threads in the tapestry of life – little things that woven together bring us the beauty that is life!
In retrospect everything is different. Which reminds me of why it is so important to document the everyday. This is probably why I love Ali’s work so much. She reminds me that the little things of everyday life are important enough to remember in our memory keeping.
Retrospect is a perspective I think I will be trying on more often in my memory keeping. How about you?
Loved this post!