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February 21, 2009

Smile For the Camera - I'll Stand By You

Step 8 (Genealogy Research Papers) of creating a Genealogy and Family Hope Chest is not quite finished so today I'm submitting another entry for Smile For the Camera: Brothers & Sisters.
The word prompt for the 11th Edition of Smile For The Camera is brothers & sisters?

I collect CDVs (Cartes de Visite) which basically are photographs taken between 1854 and the 1880s. I'm particulary interested in Civil War era photographs. I love the formality of these early photos, the elaborate gowns the women wore, the hairstyles and accessories (hats, gloves, jewellery, books, etc) and the stiff poses of individuals. Each CDV is a moment in time, captured on film forever.

Yesterday I posted Smile for the Camera - Little Beauty and her brother which is a CDV taken ca 1858 of little Cornelia Fowler and her big brother Smith.

Today I want to contrast that 1858 photo with a recent photo of two siblings. This photo was not posed in a studio, it was taken outdoors in 2007 on the first day of school. Because it is recent I'm not going to reveal the subjects' names.



The clothes obviously are quite different from 1858! But what strikes me is their little faces. Little sister leans her head spontaneously on big brother's shoulder and gives a loving smile. Look at big brother's half-smirk, slightly embarrassed, as if saying "Ho-hum.... Here we go again....".

He is protective big brother, she is adoring little sister. It's one of my favourite modern photographs of all.

2 comments:

Amanda E. Perrine said...

It is great to compare the two photo's and try to imagine what people will think of these outfits in 150 years:-)

I nominated you for the Kreativ Blogger award! You can pick up athttp://www.ataleoftwoancestors.blogspot.com:-)

Terri said...

I've nominated you for the Kreativ Blogger award - stop by my blog site to pick up your award. Thanx for all the great advise and suggestions.
The rules are fairly simple:1. Copy the award to your site. 2. Link to the person from whom you received the award. 3. Nominate 7 other bloggers. 4. Link to those sites on your blog. 5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate