Perhaps the first thing you notice about this photo are all the cracks, bends, and scratches across its surface. Who knows what trauma it saw in its life. My mom liked it enough to save it in her photo album, scratches and all. Her later memory dated it to Christmas, 1951. I would date it closer to late 1950. The baby on Mom's lap was born in January, 1950, and looks about a year old, hence my date estimation.
Except for the fact that my sister's beautiful face is missing, I love this old snapshot. There is my brother, in play clothes, wearing a delightful, happy smile. He sits close to my father who is dressed in a suit and tie with a serious expression. Beside Dad sits my smiling mother wearing what seems to be a casual dress. I'm the baby in my mother's lap wearing a dress. And sitting in front on the floor in front of my father is my sister, also dressed in play clothes. We can't see her expression because she performed some pre-digital photo editing.
As much as I love it, this is a curious photo to me. Why was my father the only one dressed up? Why did he look so serious when the others looked so happy? And why did my sister scratch out her face? Where was the photo taken? Who took it? And, my usual question when I look at old photographs, what happened just before and just after the shutter snapped? I hope my brother or sister will remember where and when this photo was taken, perhaps who took it, and the story that goes with it.
The photo editors in the Facebook group Random Acts of Photo Restoration perform some amazing miracles on photos in worse condition than this one. I know someone could remove the cracks and creases but I'm not sure about my sister's face. My husband suggested I find a photo of my sister taken at about the same time as this photo and ask if her face could be replaced. It's worth considering, just so long as an explanation accompanies the repaired photo.
This post was written for Amy Johnson Crow's 2019 version of 52 Ancestors. The post topic for the week was "Family Photo."
--Nancy.
Copyright ©2019, Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner.
Yes replacing a face can be done. My brother in law is a whiz with Photoshop and he has done it for me. As for the way your dad was dressed, I see no inconsistency for the times. I’m sure you have seen photos of men fishing or hunting in a suit and tie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming that a face can be replaced with Photoshop, Wendy. I hope I can find one of my sister at the same age. I would tend to agree with you about men wearing suits, at least in general. My father, however, balked at wearing a suit unless absolutely essential -- weddings, funerals, church. Knowing that about him is why I think it's unusual to see him in a suit.
DeleteIt is still a fun photo. I often wish I could step back into family photos to find out the 'bigger picture' of what was happening when the camera clicked.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colleen. Wishing for the story that goes with the old photos, but do I include the stories behind the photos I take these days? No. In fact, I hardly print photos. I guess I'm not learning the lessons the past could teach me!
Delete