A Moment in Time

At the risk of sounding ancient, it's all so different nowadays. Photos. They're everywhere, of everyone and everything. Used to be they were of very select moments, usually perfectly posed, a smile or not depending on the occasion and the period of time. Now they are more likely to be candid moments taken on someone's cell phones or selfies from which the photographer can pick and choose the perfect shot.

How daunting, really, especially in generations past, that the only one perfectly posed photograph that exists of Great Great Great Aunt Wilma might have been taken while she was trying to ignore a severe period cramp. Perhaps she never looked so pained in real life. But there she is now, that particular moment in time captured as her physical legacy throughout later generations. 

One of my favourite photos of Mam was taken at Trafalgar Square when she was a young woman. She looks like she's having fun, surrounded by flapping pigeons, her hair flying everywhere. But in reality she had a fear of birds flying and bats getting caught in her hair. I wonder now if that fear arose after the photo...right after as a result of this experience perhaps? Or did something negative happen right after so she equated birds flapping by her hair with those negative emotions? Or was she facing a fear by feeding the pigeons? Or was she really having fun feeding the birds? I never asked her. But I do love the photo. Mam never cared for her smile and she rarely smiled freely in photos so this is one of those precious ones.

My photograph pondering came about because it's my hubby's birthday today. So of course I wrote my daily haiku about that. Then went in search of an accompanying photo to put on instagram. I didn't have to look far. My favourite photo of Rob by himself is in my studio printed on copier paper in a simple plastic frame. But I just love it. It's from 2008, at the wedding of his daughter Nessa, captured by our son-in-law's father. Rob gave a speech that night that touched everyone's hearts. He cried as he delivered it. So did everyone else. When the picture was taken, outside just before the ceremony, Rob hadn't written a word of his speech. This pensive moment seems to capture him recalling memories, thinking about what to say. He can't remember what he was thinking right then but either way, I just love the photo, that unguarded moment.

Corners of our home/ secured by his photos/ hubby through the years/ Day 72 of #100daysofsybhaiku & day 102 of #365daysofsybwriting on instagram

As I scurried throughout the house taking photos of photos for the blog, I began to notice how i surrounded the photos: a gift label lovingly made for my mam from a dear friend in Tasmania; an ATC that I received from my friend Linda which seemed to fit with the photo of Rob. Many of these choices became conscious but started at a subconscious level and speak straight to my heart. Symbolism rules!

​My son Dane would be horrified if he ever knew that I'd posted his graduation photo but I had surrounded it with ATCs (again from Linda--we swap ATCs) representing him and love. He now lives in Arizona with his husband and is very happy there. So the bright colours remind me of that. The black and white photo of Mam and myself was given to me after her death by Dad who had stumbled across it while clearing up. He loved it because of her joyful smile, a mid-laugh almost. I paired it with a pretty piece of glass which often doubles as a wand, a dab of magic which reminds me of all the magical/crazy/affirming incidents that occured after her death.

I want to go to a thrift store now and buy a ton of frames and print photos out and put them in the frames and place them all over the house and see what else might drift up against them, securing them to my heart. Lol. 

A couple of days after Dad's second wedding, Dane and his husband were late arriving at a family function. But they were immediately forgiven when they arrived with framed photos from the wedding  for myself and his two aunts. the photo shows the 5 of us together at the wedding. A moment in time, beautifully captured.

May your day be full of moments to treasure.