About the Photos, or About the Story? Why Not Everything?

Jen Strange, whom I consider one of the most decent heartfelt scrappers in this world I have had the pleasure of some contact with (yeah, I know - you’re reading this, Jen, and giggling), has a very thought provoking article up at A Cherry on Top entitled, “Sometimes it IS just about the pictures”

This is a must-read. Go now. Read.

What got me was Jen’s renditions of some tales about her mother, and then her father. I agree whole-heartedly withwhat she is saying - I think I might be able to find a quote or five hundred on this very blog about how sometimes I think the actual photographs are forgotten. Hands up - me too! (More on that one below…). But what I want to do is push this out even further and include more than photographs.

Her mother can’t understand why it might not be about the photos. She certainly wouldn’t get on very well with me then, to be honest. Jen’s Mom and I would clash bigtime. Recently I’ve forgotten to even take photos. Although I’ve got two decent digital cameras, both of which went on holiday with me this last week, I returned with the sum total of just under fifty photographs taken during the entire week. But that’s enough photo fodder to create several layouts to tell the story of the holiday itself, and of several other things as well (not necessarily associated with any kind of vacation itself, as can be seen in my first layout using holiday snaps all about a wish or two for my daughter).

Yes, I know my admittance above is blasphemy for many digital scrappers who return with hundreds of digital pics just because it’s so easy to take and store them - but let’s not go down those roads as yet. Let’s move onto Jen’s father. Jen paints this picture of doing several albums full of layouts and presenting them to her father for Christmas. He sounds a tough cookie - one of those infuriating people who make gift-giving quite stressful at times, because he doesn’t want anything. But he did like those layouts. Thank god for that - memories are often the most valuable item to gift, don’t you think - no one can dispute them or return them to the shop with a receipt after Boxing Day.

Jen’s Father story is similar to many of my own. I gift layouts and memories to my inlaws most Christmases. Except for last Christmas - because getting any decent photographs of their grandchildren during the year from relevant parents just became too much of a joyless task for myself. I could tell their disappointment however, when they saw their presents that year did not include something 12 x 12 inch sized. No photos - whether decorated nicely or not - and they suddenly had a year without the expected memories. That was a story unto itself.

And that’s my point.  

Jen is right. It’s about the creativity sometimes. And the photographs.

Jen’s mother is right. Jen’s father is right. It’s about the photographs.

Sometimes.

And I am right. It’s about the story. Always.

What many people perhaps don’t understand - and understanding this won’t change their world in any way at all anyway - is that telling the story is not necessarily, as Jen’s mom may suggest, done with words, or journaling.

The story can be told simply with photographs. Or the colour or pattern chosen as the background. Or one simple embellishment. Or with no photographs at all. Or with some who, what, where type journaling, or a simple list of emotional words. Even the selection of a photograph to scrap is a story. Give the same three photos, scrapbook papers and elements and journaling text to three different scrappers, and you’ll have three completely layouts presented to yourself. That’s three different stories.

Whereas many people consider story telling to be of the written denotion (the lead-on from this might well be the consideration that we perhaps “author” our own memories by subjugating our own feelings, considerations or ideas into the layout anyway - which partially could make it a fantasy - right?) I think it’s more than that. Don’t tell Jen’s Mom - but even in the way that she chooses one photograph and leaves the rest in the photo development packet, then she is telling the story in her own way. Even if she thinks (quite correctly) that it’s just about the photographs. She’s still telling the story. Each album we create will show future generations the snapshots of today, and a little of the written stories also. But fundamentally, they will tell a behind the scenes story of the person who created them in the first place - us. We are the photograph enhancers. We are the story-makers.

We all are.  

Comments

[Jen_Jake'smom]

ok, I'm feeling WAY special now. I LOVE your take on what I wrote. You are SO my hero. :o)

jen