image - vicki archer
I have made a promise to myself to arrange my photographs... in particular my travel and family shots... when I saw this album, pictured above, in the market at Aix-en-Provence I knew the time had come. The photographs I take for FRENCH ESSENCE look after of themselves as I consider the blog a diary and a record of thoughts and talks over a period of time... I often scroll back and am reminded of when, where and why I chose a particular shot to share with you... That is the beauty of photographs, they instantly trigger a memory. As I was arranging the 'font' images this week I remembered exactly where I was in Paris when I snapped them... not really having any reason to take them at that time other than the pure enjoyment of looking up and clicking away... Yesterday when my mind was full of the 'French font' I remembered my Saturday morning stroll through the back streets of the 6th arrondissement and I knew exactly why those images had appealed to me..
I am nowhere near as organised when it comes to the family happy snaps... I take plenty of them but they sit and gather memory on my computer...Sometimes I make online albums as a way of keeping them together but I am ashamed to admit not as often as I should. The real truth is that I prefer classic photograph albums... the old fashioned paper-with-hard-cover-style way of archiving pictures. There is something so comforting about flicking through albums... lounging around and reminiscing... sharing memories, laughing over how we looked and remembering when... It's just not the same hunched over a computer watching a slide show... So... that means this year I am printing the images that resonate and I am going to create 'real' albums...
The gift of a photograph is one of the best...Don't you think? I like to present them on card stock, border them in ink and write a small caption underneath... Pop them in a matching envelope and tie some twine around the centre... This is such a wonderful gesture to both give and receive... I use the calligraphy pen that I spoke about a few weeks ago or a silver, gold or white ink depending on the occasion and while it's not quite as charming as the album I captured above, this style of presentation is very lovely... and so simple to do...
This weekend I am browsing my photographs... ordering albums... and choosing what to print... Do you like creating real albums... or am I too behind the times? xv
Card Stock... Here
Natural Twine... Here
Calligraphy pens... Here
my daily click HERE
Vicky I feel exactly the same way, looking at photos on a computer just doesn't have the same appeal as everyone gathered together looking through family albums. A Lovely post it's made me think of all the wonderful family photos I have filed away on my computer with no one to look at them! Have a lovely weekend. Sharon
ReplyDeleteI have so many I wouldn't know what to print ... I remember when digital photography first came in I said I wss still going to print my pics - but that didn't happen ... it's now been six years and many birthdays and trips since then! Then there's the opposite problem with scanning all the old childhood pics so that we can keep a digital backup. The old photos like the one you posted here are so lovely - but the era of the seventies and eighties resulted in very poor quality colour reproduction. I love digital pics and will always frame the favourites ... but after half century, children, birthdays, holidays etc - there would be far too many albums. Am trying to downsize and declutter too. Maybe one day just a few albums with the best of a lifetime in there ... less is more.
ReplyDelete... lovely post ... it gets me thinking ... great result of a good blog post ... good weekend ... Karen in CT
ReplyDeleteVicky, this post really resonated with me. For decades, I kept meticulous photo albums. The minute I finished a roll of film, I had it developed and put the pictures in an album. I had a large closet built, with heavy-duty shelves, just for the purpose of storing my albums. I made sure it was close to a door. My family was instructed that, in case of a fire, we rescued the 3 P's--- people, pets and photo albums! I haven't ever been so organized about anything else in my life. And then, I got a computer and a digital camera. You can imagine what happened after that: thousands of pictures in on-line albums! I'm currently in the process of printing them out and putting them in albums. I agree with you about the pleasure of sitting down and looking at the albums. It's like taking a walk through one's life.
ReplyDeleteVicki sometimes I think we are twins... only you are younger, prettier and much more talented. I love looking through old albums and sharing memories and have an armoire filled with photos and albums, waiting to be married, so to speak. There are also tons on my computer. Always making photo books for family and friends. The thousands(some I inherited)hiding in the armoire have been there for a couple of years now but hopefully, before I die... J'adore your blog and your books. Bon weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhat would I rescue if there was a fire? My photo albums. I don't have that many: one of my childhood that my Grandmother put together, one from when I was acting at Yale, another from when I met my sweetheart and then when we started travelling together for work. They mean the world to me and I greet those photos like old friends.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I was absolutely delighted with the book that I put together for my Mom and Sister on Shutterfly. It couldn't have been easier and came out perfectly. Not at all the same thing as what you mention but I will take it!
I tend to feel the same way about looking at picutres it isn't really the same.
ReplyDeleteDear Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI too love photos. I have many albums filled with happy moments and I'm glad I have them because even though I think I'll never forget those moments - time does soften one's memories. I've been doing research on Victorian albums lately because I think there is an argument that blogs are a form of digital album. That will be part of my talk on the Metaphysics of Blogging in Milan at Fashion Tales 2012.
I love looking through my grandmother's old photo albums and scrapbooks. I keep meaning to print out some photos to either frame or put in albums; it's such a lovely way to revisit places and special times.
ReplyDeleteOne of the cheapest but most beautiful gifts is the gift of photos, and then to personalize them a bit with our own little touches is the crowning touch. Love them and can never ever have enough!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as you,-picture album's! They become the remembrance of the slice of time & of the day they were taken. I adore them. Lucky for me you jogged my mind about getting organized. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteOhhh gawd. I'm terrible with taking and organizing photos. I have my daughter's childhood photos stored in fancy boxes but they are begging to be scanned or put into albums. I love your idea. There is more permanence to it. Imagine twenty years from now when your daughter wants to see a picture or remember something, how many computers later will those pictures have been moved to? Or what if there's a huge wireless wipeout. I know we have backups but where would anyone look?
ReplyDeleteYes an album, something tangible, thoughtful and beautiful.
It seems so many of us agree - the number one thing to take from a burning building {ok, after people and pets} would be the photographs.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting the process of scanning images to use electronically for various projects. And I'm using a back-up system to protect electronic data {photos, documents, music} as well.
On many occasions I have given a special photograph to someone as a gift. Some of the older family photo's are now being produced into greeting cards and notes for me to use.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous as usual Vicki. I love keeping albums, journals and notebooks...always have. And now I make them! Just a lovely, inexpensive, and creative thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE vintage photo albums and have a huge collection of them from flea markets over the years. They are almost as special to me as the ones from my own family. I love the stories they tell and the care with which they were organized and crafted. One of my favorites is a French album I bought in London at Spitalfield's. The entire thing is handmade, sewn together and with a hand-watercolored cover of pink and yellow roses. The album and the photos are just beautiful. I posted on that one a couple of years ago, but you've reminded me, Vicki, that I've been wanting to do a post about some of my other albums. Will have to do it soon. I used to be so good about organizing my own photos, but am less so now that I'm so digitally oriented. I've just started printing and compiling photos again this winter. It's such a joy and, as you said, a gift. xoxo Gigi
ReplyDeleteMy mother often reminds me
ReplyDeleteto print hard copies
as she like to hold a photo or
tuck it into a frame.
She's right.
I'm afraid I have boxes full
of photos that I so need to
organize and get into albums.
It's so easy to forget
about them as I now keep
digital photos on my computer.
I would pay someone
a pretty penny to scan
and print and organize
them all into albums!
The albums of our elders are so
simple and handsome don't you think?
Thank you for the inspiration Vicki.
Have a beautiful weekend.
xo Lisa
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, the gift of a photograph is an excellent gift.
ReplyDeleteVicki,
ReplyDeleteI confess, I'm a convert. I love the new picture albums you can order via so many online options....Apple, Snapfish, etc. The photos are supposed to stand a better chance of lasting a very long time. You can add captions and make a variety of arrangements. But I do still like the old fashioned photo albums with captions too.
Karen
Funny you should mention this. I was just cleaning out a closet last night (exciting Friday night for Amy, yes indeed) and found a big box full of old photo albums that don't fit on the bookshelves but I don't want to get rid of them. And I thought to myself how glad I am that digital photos have come into being because I do open my iPhoto and browse through all the shots on my computer so much more often than I ever would look through a photo album anymore.
ReplyDeleteI have, however, made some prints of favorites to frame and display - a collage of harp-related photos in a collage on the wall behind the harp and some shots of Paris to hang in my writing room. For inspiration, you know.
I couldn't agree more. My mother has lovingly chronicled our lives in huge leather albums, and at every family gathering we all somehow manage to find the time to huddle on the living room floor flipping through them.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
samedisaturday.blogspot.com
I love real albums! I haven't made one in way too long. My old albums are some of my most prized possessions. Thanks for the inspiration:)
ReplyDeleteJenniferxx
Those are gorgeous images, the way it's laid out. I love a good photo album but haven't made one in awhile. I do get important photos printed though as I love a photo of a loved one in a frame! Hoping you will show us some of your albums when you get them finished, I'm sure they'll be beautiful!
ReplyDeletexo Mary Jo
Beautiful photos Vicki.I made up several albums for each of my three children for their
ReplyDelete21st birthdays,the last being in Nov.It is a huge job and of course I was not organised
to have the photos in any order,subsequently it was very time consuming sorting through
hundreds of photos. To see my kids especially the boys cry when they went through the albums was wonderful.It is a great chronicle of their lives. I would advise anyone to do
it.Trishx
I love photographs and I love looking at photographs from the past. Anyone's past. We seem to be losing so much to computers today, that keeping up real live photo albums is a must. They are work, but when they're done, they're done--until the next batch of memories is made. Thanks for the great post.
ReplyDeleteI use to love (and still do) pouring over snaps my father took of my sister's and I. I fear the digital camera has made it too easy to not take the time to compile albums.
ReplyDeleteNo it's not too oldfashioned. A mammoth task, but one well worth the effort. x
Funnily I just scanned around 400 photos, some were from my 20's in Europe.
ReplyDeleteI posted some from Venice and one of my readers knew the gondoliers (one was her husband).
The photos found their way back to them after 20+ years....
gorgeous, ciao lisa
The next time you come to Aix, you must let me know! It would be lovely to meet you beyond our blogs. (I adore those old photo albums and postcards in our marché...in any marché for that matter!)
ReplyDelete