04/08/2014
A picture is worthy of a thousand words.
I know, that’s not quite how the saying goes, but whether you’re gathering material for a family history book, creating a book to celebrate a special event, or one to remember a once-in-a-lifetime vacation—whatever the purpose, each picture can inspire at least a dozen questions, and your readers will want to know the answers. Even if you were the one taking the pictures, memories fade pretty rapidly. Do yourself a favor and write a few words about them now, while you can really do them justice.
We don’t tend to take pictures for no reason. There’s always a story behind each one. If you have some old family photos and there’s still someone around who can tell you about them, ask them to fill in the “who, what, when, where, and why”. Not only will it be great to pass that information on to future generations, it will give you an opportunity to spend some bonding time with that person. In most cases, they’ll love tripping down memory lane, and you just might get to know them from a whole new perspective. Suddenly, great-Aunt Alice becomes a young girl you can relate to!
Take a look at this picture. I recognize my grandfather, but no one else. He was a logger during a very colorful period of history in southeastern Oregon. If I’d shown him this picture when he was still alive, I’ll bet he’d have had a lot to say about it!
