Playing Trains with Grandpa | photographing everyday stories
Only a handful of photos exist of me with my grandpa. One was taken when I was just a week old. The others are from Christmases where we just happened to be in the same frame. I lost my grandpa to cancer when I was just six and while I have a few sweet memories of him a lot of the details are lost. Did he get down on the floor and play with me? Did we have a favorite activity to do together? How small did I look cuddled up in his lap?
Because of that, one of the gifts I’m giving to my son is that of documenting his story and the important relationships in his life. (Let’s be honest; right now I’m doing it for me. He does enjoy looking at the photos now. However, I think their true value won’t be obvious to him until he’s older.) We take the occasional posed photo but my focus is on photographing the everyday stories of our family. Recently my dad came for a visit to play with some train tracks he’d bought Andrew for his birthday. I decided to take my documentary approach one step further and capture the story from beginning to end, not just a few shots of the actual playtime. The result? So worth it!
I know that eventually Andrew won’t want to hold hands with his grandparents. It’s one of the reasons I take photos of it. However, some habits last for decades. Ever since I can remember my dad has carried some sort of pocket knife. On any gift-giving occasion his knife is used to open the tricky packaging on presents. That means no trip to the kitchen junk drawer for scissors in our family! I want to preserve little details like this every chance I get.
It may not always come in the form of things like bridge support “gloves” or enthusiastic train noises but I hope that Andrew continues to demonstrate creativity and a joy for his activities throughout his life. I get a little excited to think about the pieces of his personality that I’m capturing now that will eventually become fully developed and integral parts of him as an adult. (And yes, I’m absolutely going to be one of those moms who pulls out photos of him as a toddler engaging in activities related to his eventual chosen profession.)
At first you see some cute photos of a grandpa and his grandson playing with a train set. However, the story they tell is so much more. I can hear my dad’s low, “oh ho ho” chuckle as Andrew jumps into his arms and he cuddles him close. I can see the logic and precision in how he stacks track pieces by shape and size before putting them away. (Which is also a good reminder of where I get my type A tendencies.) As I look at the images of my dad cuddling Andrew close to say goodbye I can smell his spicy aftershave. Most of all, I can see the love these two have for each other and how much they enjoy spending time together.
That photo of my grandpa I mentioned earlier? This is it. Is is perfect? No. But do I treasure it? Yes. Do I also wish I had more photos of the two of us together? Absolutely! And yes, I was born with black hair, was blond as a child, and now am happy as a brunette.
Would you like to have photos of your own family that tell a story that is uniquely yours? Maybe you also would like to include grandparents in the session. Give me a call or an email. I’ll help you pick an activity or routine that gets to the heart of your family’s story and create images that grow in value for you with each passing year.
Sharon Miller is a storytelling photographer specializing in documentary and portrait photography for families in the north Texas area. Sharon Miller Photography is located in Lewisville and creates custom photography for clients in Flower Mound, Lewisville, Denton, Frisco, Grapevine, and the surrounding areas.
Save
