by Carol A.
Our theme this month is Summer Fun! It is so much fun to trail through our Flickr gallery to see all the activities you are posting.
And I hope that by now,you've seen Dotti's announcement that we have added a new outlet for sharing. Check out our (your) phoneography gallery here:
Kids playing, pool dunking, tourists snapping, car rides documented - we are all kicking back. It made me harken back to summer vacations with my family, which for us in the 50's and 60's meant staying in motels.
Imagine a pool right outside your door, twin beds with your sisters, getting to choose your own dinner from a kids menu with crayons attached to it! And is there any greater reward in the world than being allowed to go to the ice machine all by yourself? And if there was an elevator - well, nirvana!
When I was in Cape May this spring, our workshop assignment was to pick a subject - any subject, and shoot it for one half hour - trying to capture its essence. Cape May is known for it's huge victorian mansions, it's wide beaches, the walking mall, and great dining. But as I walked around trying to find my subject, I was drawn to this motel at the end of the road. I should say that it is a well cared for, modernized establishment on a beautiful beach. But that is not what I saw when I looked at it. For me, it evoked my childhood.
And so, I set off to "discover its essence." Because for me it was a memory and a kind of dream, I wanted to shoot it like it was at the end of the world. I wanted to capture its timeless features - the pool, the vacancy sign, the bumper stickers and bike racks in the parking lot, the dining room. And because I was living in the past, I treated all the shots with an orange and sepia tint to look like my family's old photos. Click here - http://vimeo.com/69847042 to take a look at my resulting slideshow.
It's nostalgia day here! Please go to our flickr gallery and post pics that remind you of your childhood summers, or scan in your actual old photos! We'd love to see you as you were! Or, if you'd like a great exercise, do a half hour study of your own . Whatever you choose to do, have fun doing it -
SUMMER FUN!
15 comments:
The motels that had the vibrating beds were the best. I would beg for a quarter just to make the room shake. The worst is driving from Michigan to Arizona with your family and your grandma and all staying in the same room, and she snored with a buzz saw.
I love the 1/2 hour study, that is a great idea. It would make me slow down and really focus on getting unique shots.
this is so great carol! love the video. thank you for sharing your memories.
We thought we were in Heaven when we stayed in motels because we usually camped everywhere we went. I love your processing for nostalgia.
Such a fun video collection of images! Your music selection made me smile and brought back memories of motel stays. They were the best! Thanks for the 1/2 hour photo study idea. I shall have to give it a go!
You did a fabulous job on the slideshow, Carol! And, oh! Does that bring back memories. It was a ritual: three children, two parents, piled in the station wagon, driving far too many miles. Dad hops out to talk to the motel clerk. Too expensive, keep driving. Try again, looks nice, let Mom check the rooms. Mom comes out with pursed lips and a look that says, "My family won't stay here!". Try again ... until finally, the road weary family finds a motel that suits everybody's needs. {And Dad always preferred the ones with those little cabins. Remember those?}
I'm loving these stories!
just love this! The song definitely takes me back a long ways! Great shots with this and you definitely accomplished ( and more) what you set out to do!!! Great work
Dottie - were yo the kid or the parent>????
Oh my goodness Carol, I'm bouncing in my chair to that song and remembering good times! Still to this day when I walk in to a hotel the smell of chlorine brings back all those memories for me...and YES...walking to the ice machine made us feel so grown up! This was so much fun, and I just love the slide show...(I waved back at you) :)
Carol - the kid!!!! You know I only have one daughter! :-D And I'm a confirmed reservation-maker ... I don't take chances. Reading my story, I think you can see why. :-D))))
That's great - glad we had fun!
You certainly brought back the childhood memories to me! We stayed in such cheap motels that dad always had the manager let him see the room before he paid for it! Only once on each trip did dad pick a motel with a pool; it cost more! Fun post!
I'm going to try ONCE MORE! I have posted two comments to this post and neither is here. I'm not sure what's happening, but hopefully the third time's the charm! First of all, I LOVE this post! I think anybody growing up in that time period has motel memories with "magic fingers" beds and trips for ice down the hall. Loved your video and how you processed your photos to look like they were taken a long time ago. Such a fun post, Carol!
Great video Carol!
What an excellent video. Brought back memories. I loved your photo processing to give the pics that old feeling. Great job!
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