I like old pictures. I’m not sure why. Maybe, it’s the mystery involved with them. I can think of a hundred questions when I look at the familial display of old pictures hanging in my hallway. Did my great- grandmother in the late 1800’s have more than the one good dress she is wearing? How much fabric went into that outfit? How hard was it to talk my great-grandfather into dressing up and getting his picture taken? What’s with all the mustaches in the group photo of the great-greats and greats? But what I’m always most curious about is – why so serious? Most of my family from both sides were Christians and there’s plenty to say in the Bible about joy…like Psalm 32:11: Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice…shout for joy! My great-grandfather on my Dad’s side was a pastor. My great-grandmother on my Mom’s side never went to the storm shelter without her Bible. But, you’d never know it by looking at their pictures – they looked every bit as sullen as the rest of the sour group.
It’s so different than how we do pictures today. We all know the photographer is going so say “smile” when she’s ready to snap the picture and we comply. We look like we are loving life, even if it’s not quite so on that particular day. So what has changed in a few generations?
Was life so very hard for my ancestors that they didn’t feel they could smile, even for photos? This was a bothersome thought for me; especially since I keep a quiver full of coping mechanisms based around humor, smiles and laughter. It was unimaginable to me that folks were so downtrodden that they couldn’t bring themselves to smile for the few seconds it takes to snap a picture. I wasn’t ready to accept that concept. It was time to dig deeper and unearth the real truth about these solemn expressions.
I grabbed my coffee cup and my smart phone and sat down to do some in depth reading on the matter. I never expect to rely on just one source so I settled into my favorite chair to do research. The more articles I read, the more my face relaxed. I began to wish I had researched this a long time ago. It would have saved me needless concern. I must apologize to my great-grandfather pastor and my Bible toting great-grandmother for my ill thoughts of their questionable hypocrisy. What I discovered in my research was that in those days of early photography development, it took several minutes to take a photo because cameras relied on slow chemical reactions. A smile was more difficult to hold for a long period of time, so people grimaced or looked very serious. We snap a picture in less then a second in today’s world. My question was answered…it was photography that changed and that makes me smile.
Until next time….keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.
Kate
I had read that once long ago when learning about Solomon Butcher and his photography in the Custer County area. People got so tired of waiting. They may have started with a smile, but that quickly dimmed after a long period of time. I think little ones today get a little impatient when waiting for photographers, too, thus some tears among the frowns. Thank you, DeLila!