Family Photos

by Ethan Cole
 
 
Recently one of my aunts passed away. At the funeral service were several arrangements of family photos to look through. The children had done a nice job of arranging the photographs for display. There were always several people around the display area talking about the pictures and pointing how people have changed through the years. It was apparent that people were enjoying looking at the photographs.
 
During my drive home from the funeral service I was reflecting about how family photos interest us so. I find that when I am in other people’s homes I like to study the family photos that are displayed. I may notice a painting or other wall hangings, but it is photographs of family that draw my attention and often involve conversations. I have a few family photos displayed in our living room, but the majority of my pictures are in photo albums and boxes that are tucked away. I decided that I need to make more of an effort to display the photographs and have the albums more accessible to look through.
 

I know this will be an on going project but I wanted to make some small step towards getting the project underway. I have the formal family photographs that were taken by photographers through the years, but I wanted to display pictures of family members having fun together. The formal pictures have few memories attached to them, but candid family photos are filled with memories of events and travels. To start my project I went to a department store and purchased a large wall hanging. The wall hanging is of eight six by eight photo frames that are attached to each other. Some are arranged lengthwise and others are arranged widthwise. It is a new version of the collage. The frames are made of wood and each has a separate opening on the back. This will allow me to easily exchange family photos if I choose to.
 
My wife liked the frame. She has been taking many pictures of fishing trips that we have taken with both his family and mine. She thought it would be fun to get several of the frames to place around the house and have each one center around a different theme. This first frame would feature family photos involving fishing. I thought this was a good idea. We have several family photos of different holiday celebrations so we could do frames around them.
 
I look forward to having family photos displayed in our home. I think it will be fun for guests to look at and will help us to recall fun times when we look at the pictures.