Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

On the Value of Photographs

Photos can help to tell a story - and are invaluable in writing biographies, or history.  Often it is not just the key subject matter, but the background - the story behind the story.

An interesting article this morning (January 7th, 2014) about a photographer who was taking photos in the cold of a young man trying to get warm on a grate in New York and when the photo was published, the man was recognised as someone missing for several days.


"Martin, the AP photographer, said the episode serves as a reminder to journalists that every person they encounter has a story to tell.

"It's really gratifying to see that a photograph can make a tangible difference in someone's life. That's a really amazing thing to have happened," she said. "I'm happy and touched that the photograph could help reunite this family.""

I noted the words "every person they encounter has a story to tell".


One photo I found in my "archives" recently tells something interesting - the ladies were all trainee nurses with me and the photo was taken at one of the local country Ball's.  It was a feature of our life in the country during the "ball season" - but what does the photo tell us?

The photo was taken around 1965 - and I am still in contact with one of the ladies in the picture.  You can see that we were all dressed formally with long white gloves, drinking tea and earring biscuits at supper no doubt.  Look at the "hair do's", the clothing, the expressions on the face, the simple jewellery (or lack of it).  The photo was in black and white - coloured photos were not the norm!

 
The following photo is around 100 years old - again it is black and white - but what can you learn from this photo?
 
 
 
 
Do you digitise all your photos?  Do you share only online or do you print photos?  Do you have a photo album?
 
 
I have many photos in my computer and on hard drives, but the only ones I sit, persuse and study are the hard copy ones.  To me they are more valuable than the digital ones. 
 
 
When I am old and in a nursing home, the ones in my computer will be lost to me - the hard copy ones I can spend time revisiting old times!!!  
 

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth........

 "A typical biography relying upon individual's notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction'
Joyce Carol Oates
 
Footnote (1)
 

We all know that not only are our memories of events past can be a little vague, and that someone else at the same event will have a different story about what exactly happened.  It is a big issue for biography writers, as often someone disagrees with the story and makes an issue of it.
 
I can remember that on the celebrations of my Aunt's 90th birthday, family members were asked to write a short piece about the Aunt, and my cousin put it together in a booklet form, which was read at the event.
 
Apparently something my mother wrote in her piece did not impress my Aunt.  My mother wrote her version of what was supposed to be the tale of a humourous event, but Aunt was not happy and in fact they refused to speak to one another for several months.  Actually Aunt would not speak to my mother who was quite mystified by the experience.  Luckily they resumed their good relationship some months later, and when my Aunt died they had well and truly made up.
 
It is common for a writer to have some issues with a family member - and I can recall a friend who wrote a moving tale about her own mother, who had during the war escaped from Europe and made a new life for herself in Australia, and many years later she took her family, which now included two daughters back to the country of her birth and surprised everyone when revealing who she really was.


My father's boyhood home in Prospect, South Australia - see Footnote 3
 
 
The sister caused quite a stir just before the book was published as she disagreed with some of the written word, and indeed did not like what was written about herself.  Luckily the book was published - and it was a very good read.
 
It is a real dilemma for a writer.  Fiction can be so much easier than non-fiction, as you do not have to check the detail, and you are less likely to offend anyone (unless in the "fiction" they recognise their own story!!)
 
Do you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?  The writer has many obligations when writing a biography - and it does include "telling the truth" but we all know that there is some information best left out. Clearly there is a risk in "telling all" and the writer is wise to seek legal advice before publication, and if appropriate, seeking the permission, IN WRITING, when material is included that might cause offense.
 
Doing some research for a yet to be published story I interviewed several family members.  One actually hid from me in Ireland, as she did not want to talk with me for she did not want the story told.  Another family member spoke of his father, who played a prominent role in the life of my subject - telling me much about this abusive man, and asking me to write the whole story - said with much venom.   It does take much care in writing!

Check and recheck - especially details - I have found libraries, and state archives useful places for information that has been helpful, and thank goodness for the Internet that enables us to find (and check) information from the comfort of our home or office.
 
 
 
Footnote (1) Quote from BrainyQuote.com
               (2) Joyce Carol Oates - American Author
               (3) The Watson family home in Prospect, South Australia, built in 1914 at the cost of 614
                pounds.  It is still standing 100 years on.