Quick Tips on WHAT to Photograph

Recent message board talk on WHAT to photograph (vs. how to) prompted me to generate some crazy lists of ideas. Here are a few highlights.
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*IMPORTANT NOTE* In order to get more photos, try taking your camera with you every where you go, both inside the home and out and about for a few days. Tell yourself to take lots of pictures and pay attention to what captures your fancy.

EVERYDAY STUFF
* Money.
* Bills to be paid.
* Books to be read.
* To do lists.
* Food you are making or eating.
* Your feet. Or shoes. Going through your day.
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ANIMALS
* Do you have any pets?
* Capture them from above.
* Then get down on the floor.
* Try shooting from behind while they are focused on something exciting.
* Get a photo of them playing together (if you have more then one).
* Or get a photo of them playing with your child, spouse or friend.
* Maybe even try out that timer and get a "self portrait" of the two of you.
* Squirrels, rabbits, birds and any other animal will work too.
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AROUND THE HOUSE
* Door knobs, perhaps with keys dangling in them.
* Your front door, back door or any door you use frequently.
* Your living, dining room or any other room you spend time in and enjoy.
* The sunlight streaming in the window at dawn or dusk.
* What’s on your coffee table, night stand or desk.
* Clocks, decorations, mirrors, etc.
* Favorite “corners” or “spots.”
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SELF PORTRAITS

* In the mirror.
* Reflection in the glass of home, car or neat storefront.

* Reflection in water or other liquid.
* With the timer and a quick pose.
* First thing in the morning.
* Laughing, smiling, frowning and even crying.
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SCENERY
* Your front yard. Or back.
* The local park.
* Neat looking trees. Maybe with the sun streaming through.
* An approaching storm. Or amazing puffy clouds in the sky.
* Sunrise. Sunset.
* A view you really enjoy on the way to work.
* Water. Beaches. Oceans. Lakes. Streams. And Shores.


AROUND TOWN

* Your place of work.

* Where you shop.
* City hall or defining buildings.
* The skyline.
* Old, abandoned, rusted and ruined things, buildings, etc.
* New, shiny, bright things, buildings, etc.
* Get in close for textures: brick, concrete, dirt, marble, peeling paint, etc.

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PEOPLE

* You love.

* Family, spouse, partner, parent, sibling, child.

* People who've passed. Take photos of the photographs (if not digital).

* Friends. Coworkers.

* "Enemies" if you are so inclined.

* Random candids of random people.

* Hanging out and doing something fun together.

* And why not try and get the WHOLE group in a shot together.

RANDOM IDEAS, JUST FOR FUN

* Junk Yards and items within.
* Old alleys and their textured details. Or pose yourself or friend in one.
* Salad dressing pouring out of the bottle and onto crisp green salad. Close up.
* Something you find ugly or unattractive.
* Bumper stickers and signs that make you laugh. Or raise your eyebrow.
* Stacks and piles of anything.
* People walking away.

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What unusual, unexpected or everyday things capture your attention?

Grandma & Papa K Wedding: A Heritage Story to be Scrapbooked

I LOVE this little gem of a photo I discovered the last time I visited my parents back east. It is a picture of my Grandma & Papa K on their wedding day.

I don't really remember my grandparents well. I mostly have flitting childhood memories of playing at their home more then memories of Grandma and Papa themselves. So naturally, I have many questions about this photograph. When is this? How old are they? How did they meet? Why did they fall in love (aka "the story")? How did he propose? Who are the other people in the photo? Was he on leave? What is my grandma laughing at?

The fortunate thing is that most of their children are still alive: my mom, two of my aunts and one of my uncles. This means I have MANY resources to discover the answers. The trick is getting answers out of my family that live over 1200 miles away. They only sort of do email and just when asking them for some information about my Grandpa T who recently passed, it's been like pulling teeth. I'm sure seeing them in person would help get answers, but I only have that luxury 1-2 times a year with the high cost of airfare.

While it's fortuante that I have access to and will hunt down as many answers as possible, let's pretend I truly knew nothing more then this being a photograph of my Grandma and Papa K on their wedding day. Based on that, if I were to scrapbook this today, my journaling would not only include those questions above (pretending/assuming I had no way to get answers), it would also include my thoughts, feelings and observations about the photograph and what it reveals.

Sample Journaling: I love this photograph on my Grandma and Papa K on their wedding day. My mom's parents look incredible happy to be getting married to one another. The love and joy they shared reflects in their faces. I love the expression on my Grandmother's face. I love how her face is all crinkled up and their is a slight little space between her teeth. I love this because I smile the exact same way. When I am having a good ole time, I scrunch up my face in laughter and happiness, showing off those pearly whites for all the world to see. It's sweet to know I get that from my Grandma. And would you look at the height of the hair on my Papa's head! What is that about? I know he was a tall a man, and this must have really drew a man's eye up when he ran across them in the war. I believe he was a part of WWII. I also really see my cousin Gary's features reflected in his face.-

Sample Journaling Continued: Who are these other people pictured? I'm going to guess that it is the maid of honor and the best man. I am also guessing that the maid of honor is Grandma's sister because they have similar facial features. I am guessing the same of the best man. I am betting the best man is Papa's brother because of the nose. Though he looks older, maybe old enough to be his father, but knowing that Papa was one of 10-12 siblings, I'm guessing it's his brother.

Journaling thoughts continued. If I couldn't see any resemblance of the other people in the photo to my grandparents, I would still be musing if they were the best man and maid of honor. I would probably be guessing they were the respective best friends of my grandparents. Also, if I had enough room on the layout (I would probably make room), I would talk about the background and what's on the table in front of them.

This method could also apply to any heritage photo you have with extremely limited knowledge, i.e. only the person's relationship to you. Even without that, you can still use a similar method to document and record that person's memory and legacy. And when in doubt, don't forget to talk about how you feel: frustrated at lack of knowledge, curiosity about details or the background in the photograph, expressions on people's or their features and how they make you feel. Don't let the fact that you don't know anything, or could "get it wrong" stop you from scrapbooking your treasures. Besides, if you really do find out you were wrong someday down the road, you would always have more fodder for another page.

Tis the Season

Tis the season. We wish you a merry Christmas. I LOVE this song by Shedaisy. Probably one of my favorite holiday country tunes. I LOVE Christmas music. Traditional, country, rock, classical, choral, etc. Bring. It. On.

So, now that Halloween is officially over, the weekend passed and much candy consumed... it's time for the Christmas Holiday Season to begin! I can officially start making cards, creating decorations and singing Christmas carols at the office. No. Wait. One of my coworkers just vetoed the last one! Oops! He claims that's not allowed until Thanksgiving! We'll see how long I can hold out!

So, the big question is: what holiday decorations are on the agenda? Over the last couple of years, I have made a paper wreath and a paper Christmas tree that I love and still bring out every holiday season. But I'm thinking it's time for something new. I think I will be "spicing up" this garland by Making Memories. It's my project for the week. Maybe add some spray, stamps, glitter or paint. Or different papers. Not sure. I like the design, but I plan to add my own "flair" to the garland.

Do you have any holiday projects in the works? I would love to see what you are up to! And I am also curious to know what's your favorite Christmas/Holiday song or album? I'm always looking to expand my musical knowledge. I am a classically trained violinist you know... perhaps I should document that story soon. Stay tuned. :o)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween! In the spirit of the season, I bring you FRIGHT FEST with Hailey and Crackers. Insert psycho music here. Reeh, reeh, rehh!!!
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Noooooooooooooooooo. That is NOT a look of "I am totally going to bite and rip those weirds things apart that you just set on my back" on Crackers face. Not at all. Never.
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And yes, it's QUITE scary having the world's smallest pumpkin on your head, Hailey. And no, that is NOT my hand on Hailey's snout. I'm not trying desperately to get her to cooperate. Nut uh. Not me.

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And in case you can't tell, those are looks of misery, annoyance and general "I would so kick the snot out of you if you weren't on the top of the food chain" looks from my ladies above. Don't worry, no children were harmed in the making of these photos. And before you go thinking they are being used, you should see Crackers still licking the carpet right now, sure there are more crumbs from the more liver treats.

I suppose this would be a whole lot easier if I just dressed them up in little doggie costumes, huh? NOT!!! What are you going to be for halloween this year? Or your kiddos? Or your furry kids?

Remembering Grandpa: A Look at Telling His Story

Many of you know that my Grandpa T passed away unexpectedly this August. At 81 years old, he lived a long and full life. It was a joy being his granddaughter and I know the grief will really hit me when I go to visit my family in Ohio for the holidays and he won't be there. In fact, it's already trying to seep out the corners of my eyes, just putting together this quick post.

Being a scrapbooker helps me to deal with my loss in a healthy, constructive way. I am working hard to preserve as much memory about him as I can, while it's still as fresh as possible. I'm also still trying to let go the fact that I didn't get more of his information recorded.

I have been working with my family to try and get some of his memories, stories and personality captured and documented. I have been having a particularly good time reminiscing with Andy, as he has a great memory for detail and seems to be one of the only people who can remember Grandpa saying anything about his time in the military.

Here is the result of playing around with some initial digital templates and pieces of Grandpa's military story. Do you like the first or the seocnd one better? The first is a font of my actual handwriting. The second is just another font that I liked. Then again, I may decide to create a hybrid verison of this layout too.

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The journaling talks about some of the random military memories Andy recalled Grandpa telling us over the last few years. Digital element in first photo was created by me. All others are by Ali Edwards.

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

Oh the weather outside is Frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Don't you just LOVE waking up to over a foot of snow, all the schools being closed, some of the highways closed yet your place of work is still open?? I live 18 miles away from work... that's a long way and IT'S STILL SNOWING!!!!!!

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So, I am sitting tight until the sun gets up and starts warming things up a little bit. I also put an email into my boss (who comes in even further then I) to let me know what the roads are like and if he thinks I should come in or not. Considering he is the City Traffic Engineer and a safety freak (plus I trust him), he will let me know if I will be leaving the house today or not.

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In the meantime, enjoy a couple of pictures of the ladies playing in the snow yesterday afternoon. This morning, the snow is almost up to their bellies! LOL If you had an unexpected snow day, what would you do with your little slice of freedom?

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A Quick & Easy Happy Layout

I made the following layout for a submission call. The topic was "happy" layouts. And while it didn't get picked up, I thought I would share it anyway since I enjoyed making it.



Thoughts about "happy" in regards to this layout: "Happy" is sitting down to a freshly cleared off scrapbook table with an idea in mind - to use those blurry, yet happy photos. Photos that you can't help smiling at when you look at them. They may not be perfect, but they capture the joyous motion and playfulness of my doggies.


"Happy" is learning to sit down at a blank canvas and just go, while not fearing perfection, failure or what anyone else might think. "Happy" is fun new products that are just the right color, shape or say just the right thing. "Happy" is having everything come together on a layout: subject idea, photos, layout design, fun products and the words. "Happy" is completing the layout and deciding that yes, indeed, I am "happy" with it.
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"Happy" is simply having fun playing with paper. What's your "happy?"