Heritage and Props

One of my favorite photography sites if Capture Your 365. This site is about everyday photography. Once you sign up, you get a daily email based on the daily prompt. (You can download the list as well.) There was a series of prompts that offered the opportunity to explore your family heritage. We all get busy and don't often take the time to look at the old pictures. My Mom gave me the family pictures when she went into a senior apartment. The cold weather has forced me to learn to play with props. As I progress, I find myself getting better and more imaginative. It's kind of fun to find something at a dollar store or consignment shop and realize you can use it in photography. The top photo is very special to me. My Dad read to me every night when I was growing up. I can remember his frustration when I insisted on the same book every night for quite a while. Later he took me to the library to get signed up for my first library card. When I started reading so much that I had to go to the library every week, he got me a big basket for my bike. I fell in love with the library thanks to him. As I got older we would talk about books. He was the one who told me about Ernest Hemingway. (See my top photo.) When I was growing up and got my first card through the Free Library of Philadelphia, you got a children's card until you were 14. By the time I was 12, I was bored with the kid section. So I lied about my age. Luckily, I was tall for my age. At the age of 12, I started with Hemingway's short stories which gave me some sex education. They really weren't that good, but at the age of 12 I thought they were pretty cool. I can still remember the line from the woman who is having sex with a lumberjack "Jim, oh, Jim!" Heritage means different things to different people. I appreciate the heritage from my parents - especially the love of books.