SanShots

Five Senses

2011-08-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sight, Smelling, Taste, Touch, Hearing -- these are the five senses that God has blessed the human body with. I remember lessons in school about these senses. We were usually asked which of the senses we would be willing to give up if pressed to make a choice. They are all so important! I do know a blind person, a deaf person, one that has never been able to smell, folks that loose their sense of taste due to cancer treatments, amputees, etc . . . . but as of now, I am still blessed with all my senses (no wise cracks Jerry).

But the really incredible phenomenon is how theses senses are combined in our inner most being with our memory bank. Thus a smell, like freshly baked peanut butter cookies, can take you back to the fun of baking cookies with a favorite aunt. Or the sound of thunder can take you back to a recliner in your parent’s den snuggling with your younger brother and laughing at the storm so that he would never be afraid of thunder. Or the taste of a lemon pie can make you remember a great-aunt who would deliver a pie to you when you were ill and how that delicious pie would make you feel much better. The touch of a little baby’s finger around yours reminds you of when your own where so tiny . . . and can it really be that many years ago? The sight of my husband’s eyes when he is happy reminds me of a teacher’s nickname for him in school . . . “there’s ole smiley eyes” J

Today Jerry and I went to an estate sale. I heard Jerry making an offer on a purchase while I was browsing around. That was the only item we bought, and I didn’t look at what was in his bag until we got back home. I knew he was buying it for camping – he likes to buy cheap pots and such to use over the campfire. But when we got home, this is what he had bought . . .

And immediately ALL my five senses rushed to collide with my memory bank, and I had a sudden rush of emotion. It was an old style coffee pot – JUST like the one my Grandmother Branyon used every morning at her house when I was growing up. I could see the farm kitchen with the coffee pot on the stove while I sat at the large kitchen table that was in the middle of the room. I could smell all the foods that she had cooking –normally I would spend Saturday nights at her house, and she always got up really early to cook a big Sunday meal for all the family to share after the church services. I remember it was my “job” to watch the coffee pot and let her know when the water turned brown through the little glass knob on the top of the perking pot.

I remember the taste of the coffee – she always gave me more cream and sugar than coffee, and would pour the steaming mixture into a cup with a saucer – and then she’d pour some from the cup into the saucer so it would cool faster and I could sip it without burning my tongue.

I could hear her cheerful voice as she labored over the meal . . . and still she managed to get us all to Sunday School early – my papa, myself, usually my sister, and my two uncles that still lived at home -- and we never missed a service. Grandmother Branyon always supported her church and was one of those quiet, behind-the-scenes kind of laborer. She never spoke ill of anyone – ever. Did I also mention that my Grandmother worked full-time in the cotton mill? Anyone want to talk about a true Proverbs 31 woman?

I loved her very much, and one of the greatest compliments I have ever received was written in a sympathy card that was mailed to me after she passed away. This person kindly wrote that I remind her of my grandmother. Oh, that those words would be true. I hope I “finish well” as she did….. “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev 2:10

That would fill all my senses J

SanShots: Hanami Party

2011-04-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

SanShots: Hanami Party

Hanami Party

2011-04-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

"May you live all the days of your life." ~Jonathan Swift

There is a Yoshino Cherry tree in our yard. We planted it there. Actually we have planted several there – in that same spot – but this one decided to spread some roots and stay awhile.

"Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you'll be right."

~H.H. Morant

The Yoshino is a fairly fast growing tree. It should reach about 30 feet tall and wide at its maturity. Alas, in about 15 years it will have reached it peak in size

and beauty and will not live much past that length of time.

“Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.” ~Charles Richards

It is most beautiful for about one week in the year – appearing as a cloud of pink blooms in March. The tree is also pretty other times in the year, but never as much as that brief week of glory in the early spring.

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln

I read the Japanese have a tradition of hosting a Hanami Party to celebrate cherry blossom season. “Hanami” means “cherry blossom viewing”. Since the peak bloom viewing is so brief, I think that tradition is akin to a Latin saying, “Carpe Diem,” that is popularly translated as “seize the day”.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~Annie Dillard

I took the wise advice of the Japanese and Latin sayings and spent a little time under my Yoshino Cherry tree while it was at its peak this year. It was a very enjoyable time and very well spent – even though I admit that I don’t spend enough moments in such pleasurable indulgences…and it is even less seldom that I do so without feeling guilty regarding all the other things I “should” be doing.

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” ~Braveheart

I will leave you with a few last quotes to ponder.

Then maybe you will be inspired to have your own personal Hanami Party.

"Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Hear the music Before the song is over."

Author Unknown

Feel free to share with me the “seize the day” moments

that make your life a pleasure. :)

“When you run so fast to get somewhere you miss half the fun of getting there.”

Author Unknown

Which brings me to a final aphorism which is one

my children have heard from me more than they care to:

“Enjoy the journey…”

All Photos by SanShots Photography

Jessica

2010-04-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves regarding the importance of taking pictures of your children

--the earlier pictures of Jessica were made when she was 4 years old, the present ones are of her at age 9.

These photo shoots were only 5 years apart, and look at the changes!

She is still a beautiful model.

Email me if you'd like my portrait "photo shoot" package price!! --- smedens@juno.com

I've got my eye on a new camera lens $$$ . . . :)

Time Passes . . .

Grands and Greats

2010-03-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

Grandparents are a priceless treasure in a child's life, but their huge value is not often recognized until they are departed from this life. Then you look back and reflect on all the times they poured themselves into your lives and you get teary-eyed with the longing to sit and talk to them again. You wish you could hear more stories about their lives and the lives of your parents as they grew up. You wish you had sat and recorded every family member's name your grandparent's could recollect for a family tree record. You wish for some favorite food that your grandmother always prepared just for you -- no matter how simple the dish, no one else can fix it like she could.

I was fortunate to be the "first" grandchild on both my parent's sides . . . so I received an immeasurable amount of love and attention . . .but I also know my grandparents had a way of making each and every one of the grands feel like the "most" special.

The TIME spent with my grandparents is by far my most fondest memory . . . no one can invest time in your life better than a grandparent. I loved to sit at the kitchen table at Grandmother Branyon's and watch for the coffee to percolate on the stove -- that was my official Sunday morning job. My Papa Branyon would give me a quarter to comb his hair. I'd sit in the den and listen to them study over their Sunday School lesson every Saturday evening that I spent the night. I loved sleeping on the feather mattress at their house -- it was so comfy.

My Grandmother Mauldin loved flowers, and we would work in the flower beds together at her house. I remember sitting in my Papa Mauldin's lap and playing with his pocket watch at a very young age. I loved to look at the photo albums and hear the stories of all the adventures their family of six kids had together -- they had some hard times, but it made them a close knit family.

Now that many of my friends are becoming grandparents, I am hearing stories of the intense love that comes from having the gift of a grandchild. In due time, this special privilege will become mine -- and I want to be the most "time" lavishing grandmother ever! I think the main difference in being a grandmother instead of a mother is the wisdom you have gained. As a new mother, you don't have the blessing of experience -- so a lot of what you do is trial and error. But a grandmother can look back at how fast their own children grew up, and be wise enough to treasure every moment of that grandbaby's existence ! (plus you know better in hindsight what things are really priority). I've already "warned" all my friends that they better tell me lots of stories and show me lots of pictures, because that's what I'm gonna be doing when it's my turn. :)

Some grandparents worry that they won't be the favorite grandparent . . but I think that is a useless worry. Grandchildren are like endless sponges that will soak up all the time that grandparents lavish on them. I had no problem loving each and every one of my grandparents. My life was uniquely enriched in different ways by each grand and great that I was blessed with. My children were also blessed by having the love of grandparents AND great-grandparents for many years (see all the attached pictures of some of their first moments together).

I could write a book of blogs on all that my grandparents meant in my life and not begin to tell the story -- but one of the best practices as a Memory Keeper (photographer) is to take many, many pictures of your children with their grandparents. These pictures are guaranteed to only go up in value with each passing year.

(Pops died suddenly when Rebekah was 8 weeks old -- not very long after this photo was taken)

LOST

2010-01-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Pictures LOST. It has happened to a lot of folks.
The chance of it happening is why I would never be comfortable as the solo photographer at any important event. If it’s happened to you, then leave your “story” under the comment section - - I’m interested in who has the “worst” story to tell.

I know it happened to Rebekah on her first trip to New York City. She came home with a memory card full of pictures that she couldn’t wait to share, but the card was “corrupted”, and the pictures were mostly lost. Luckily she had friends that took pictures on the trip also, so some group shots were recoverable.

It happened to my brother just this past Christmas. His card also became corrupted, and he lost a lot of Leah’s Christmas pictures.

A friend of Jonathan and Lindsey visited the United States from Italy this past year. He left his camera behind accidentally on the bus – but miraculously an honest passenger turned it in to the driver. However, the pictures had all been deleted (probably by accident, since the menu was in Italian). The good news for him is that he and Jonathan were able to download a program from the Internet that recovered the deleted pictures from the memory card.

The first time I experienced “lost” pictures was right after we brought Rebekah home from the hospital. I had just a few pictures left on the roll in my camera, and luckily we used them to capture Jonathan’s “first” meeting of his baby sister. I then put in a new roll and took the full roll of film of brother and sister together for the first time – it was so sweet. When we sent the pictures off for developing, that second roll of film didn’t come back – and it was never recovered. I was devastated --- those precious moments were not “re-creatable”. But I am very thankful to have the three last pictures on the roll that showed the very first moments of my children together.

Lesson -- Sometimes things like this happen, and sometimes there is nothing to do but move on. However, you can protect the pictures you do have by having a duplicate backup – very important. I used to keep my negatives in storage at my mom’s house and I kept my albums of pictures at our house --- that way, if there was a fire, I’d have one or the other. That was my first “back-up” system.

The Beginning of a Hobby

2010-01-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

JULY 1984 ---
I love
this picture!

We were loading Jonathan in his car seat to take him home from the hospital....and this is the expression we got from him. Doesn't he look excited to travel home with his inexperienced parents?!! (you should have seen his Dad "securing" him in that car seat for his first ride home) . .. Did you know babies don't come with instruction manuals?! lol

I knew the Kodak Instamatic (pictured in my first blog post) was not going to be enough for me with such a precious model as this. Jerry and I stopped at K-Mart on the way home from the hospital and splurged on as nice of a camera as we could afford (considering we just had a baby and had no insurance at this time to help with the doctor or hospital bills!).

We bought a 35 mm Chinon -- and it turned out to be a really good camera. I am very grateful we had it -- and I can't tell you how many, many rolls of film I used in it -- especially considering we had a beautiful baby daughter 17 months later. Our only regret is that we could not afford a video camera also. The video cameras were huge and expensive at that time. We were not able to get one until Jonathan was around 3 and Rebekah was 2.

The Lesson for today is to always have your camera loaded (from my "film" days) and ready to grab quickly -- especially if you have children ... 'cause you don't want to miss any precious shots. The time your children are entrusted to you is all so sweet, and all too brief. Enjoy.

The Polaroid

2010-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

“Why can’t I see them now?” was the question Edwin Land’s daughter asked as they awaited pictures made from a recent holiday. Land was an American inventor and physicist; and this question led to his invention of a one-step process for developing and printing photographs – “instant photography.” The first Polaroid camera sale made to the public was in November, 1948. This first camera sold for $89.95, which was nearly the equivalent to a year’s salary for the average amateur photographer at that time.

Well, I didn’t get that original model . . . I received mine in the late 70’s, but I still remember the excitement of taking that picture, watching the camera shoot out the film card, and seeing the picture develop as you watched. It was like magic! Although the album I have containing these pictures is a testament to the poor quality of the shots, the pictures themselves evoke many memories for me now.

And isn’t that what photography really does? It is a “memory keeper” for the future. How fun it is to sit with an album and reminisce with family and friends over the past.

So, Lesson One is . . . Don’t wait for that “perfect” camera. Start making lots of pictures today, and preserve your family memories

(The above picture of Jerry is a Polaroid from April, 1980 --- 5 months before we married. That cool burgundy car he's standing beside was his "first" car -- purchased used with money he earned from driving a school bus .... by the way, we first met because he was my school bus driver -- the schools employed students as drivers "back then". See how old pictures just keep on preserving good memories?)

(The second Polaroid is of our first home, taken in the New Year of 1981. We were so proud to be able to purchase our trailer and live in the country -- interest rates at the time were over 20%, pushing many housing options out of our reach. Both of our children were born while we lived here, and we have many happy memories of those times -- this picture is treasured as a reminder of humble beginnings.)

SanShots - New Year's Resolution

2010-01-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

I have made a commitment to learn more about photography this year. I enjoy photography has a "self taught" hobby, but I received a nice digital camera for Christmas . . . so I want to learn more about the camera and photography techniques as a whole. I figured the best way to learn is to commit to a blog where I can share my little discoveries along the way. Usually I am "too busy" to allow myself the time needed to really learn these type techniques -- maybe you the reader can encourage me to stay on my discovery path when my blog fails to show progress.

I might pull out some old pictures and explore the technicalities of why they are favorites. So if you are friend, family, or acquaintance -- you might find your picture on this blog. Since I don't have any "model releases", you will have to contact me if you want the picture removed. lol
I'm going to start by reminiscing about how I got interested in "picture taking" and some past learning experiences.