One day, while I was at work, a coworker walked into my office. I had my photoblog up on my screen, and on that day, a photograph of my daughter was being featured.
“She’s so lucky,” my friend said, somewhat wistfully.
“Yeah?” I asked. “Why?”
“She’s going to have all of these great photographs of her childhood to look back on. She’s very lucky.”
There’s no doubt that Alex has grown up with a camera in her face, and yes, there are thousands of photographs which show her at every day of her childhood. But this week, as we were taking our annual family self portrait for our Christmas cards (inspired, of course, by Shutter Sister Tracey), laughing at our reflections in the mirror as we made faces and were silly, it dawned on me that these photos we take show more than just what we looked like at a particular point in time. And I hope, when Alex is an adult, these pictures will bring back a flood of memories of how much fun we’ve had together as a family.
* * * * * * *
Happy Love Thursday, everyone. Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments section, below. And check out this great shot of a family having a whale of a time, as left in our flickr pool by {Emily}.
And may you enjoy your family today.
(And by the way, if you’re interested in taking your own holiday family self-portrait, you can check out my methods here.)
Wayfaring Wanderer says
I’m sharing the love with at GIVEAWAY!
http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2008/10/share-love-giveaway.html
Ane Lagerqvist says
http://bilderurlivet.rular.se/blogg/lovethursday.html
Beautiful shots…
Me, myself and I… Loving yourself. Something one takes for granted.
Camilla says
My picture isn´t about family, but a lovely heartshaped shadow.
http://rabarbermarmelad.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/love-thursday-3/
My blog is in Swedish, thank good the pictures can be seen in any language.
Comment´s are welcomed.
Happy love thursday to you all – after work I will go home to my family and we will go swining together as allways on thursdays – our weeklyroutine.
simply blogged / leaca's philosophy says
beautiful post. happy love thursday everyone.
http://www.simplyblogged.com/
Marcie says
A trail of hearts..and a lot of love:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=567
michelle of bleeding espresso says
You are indeed creating lovely mementos for your daughter 🙂
This week I have a "guest" heart from one of my readers:
http://bleedingespresso.com/2008/10/love-thursday-the-guest-waterlily-heart.html
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
Jessica New says
Inspired by Karen & the family LOVE theme….
I blogged about my 4 kids & the LOVE they share for one another…
http://jessicanew.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-between-siblings.html
Love 2 You All
Busymomma66 says
Beautiful post Karen. Definitely thinking about the Christmas Card shoot.
Happy Love Thursday everybody. Here’s just random love I found in NYC last weekend.
http://busymomma66.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-love-thursday.html
cindy k says
my photo is about the pie i made for my husband with the apples we picked together at the farm.
http://flickr.com/photos/71443419@N00/2980883719/
happy love thursday!
Jeanine says
Beautiful candid shots. Thanks for sharing your method. Way better than a self timer, I agree. I took this shot a while ago. It’s busy and I can’t get it just right but it was so wonderful to be walking these city streets on a warm spring afternoon and see that love was in the air… you just had to look up. Happy Love Thursday.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/2985746379/
shelli says
Those are gorgeous photos! Wow. I never thought of taking a family portrait while looking in a mirror.
http://web.me.com/pabis/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#38
ELK says
Karen thanks for a fun and info packed post! you laughed a lot I see it
does your pet attempt to be in every photo? here is an out take featuring his efforts….enjoy a love filled day
http://www.redorgray.com/
Julia says
Fun fun photos! I think it’s a blessing to be able to capture all of those moments. Today, I have very colorful leaf love:
http://jewels.esmilde.com/2008/10/love-thursday_30.html
m. heart says
i sat at the kitchen table this morning debating whether or not to post the entry i wrote for love thursday last night. when i visited here to see that the love thursday theme is family, it answered any doubts i had about sharing it.
my photo is of a paper maché heart i recently made for a larger project, but the post is about my father.
happy love thursday.
http://secretnotebookswildpages.blogspot.com/2008/10/thursday-love-my-heart-and-your-heart.html
margie says
happy love thursday everyone. family and a keepsake.
http://3yrplan.typepad.com/soeursdujour/
JeanaMarie says
Today I loved being able to spend time with my youngest on her own, while the big girl was out with dad.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanamarie31/2985818147/
hlt!
Jessi says
Happy Love Thursday…..
….welcoming our new addition to our family…
http://www.frozeneights.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday_29.html
Secret Agent Mama / Mishelle Lane says
Love the family self portrait.
I am doing an autumn-inspired take on the week; so I have a leaf that just exudes a quality of love.
http://secretagentmama.com/blog/2008/10/30/l-o-v-e-t-h-u-r-s-d-a-y-2/
Shelagh ~ Une Petite Etoile says
That is beautiful ~ mine is about family as well.
http://lecolemaison.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday-sisters.html
Have a wonderful Love Thursday. everyone!
nickythomas says
good afternoon Shuttersisters
As we head towards possibly our most difficult christmas, i find myself looking more and more at photos of my dad. Searching out moments caught with this child, or that one; trying to find a shot of his laugh or that funny face he sometimes made at Cedar. It’s hard to think that he wont be here this year.
I want more than anything to look up from here at my mum’s kitchen table and see this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2359516872/
the knowledge that it will never happen again makes my soul pretty much shrivel up and die.
Thanks for posting such a nice post today Karen, and to Hay for making me smile yesterday.
Lots of love
Nicky x
spencercasa says
these are the two i love:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23196640@N03/2979848840/
Cartwheels At Midnight/Paige says
I love my Chucks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/2986786726/
tamsin says
such a beautiful family, inside and out
http://www.photoblog.com/tamsingrant/
Katie in MA says
Beautiful post, beautiful memories, beautiful family! You are ALL lucky!
Here is my Love Thursday post about the wonderful journey my friend is about to embark with her own new family.
http://cantgetthere.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/let-love-lead-you/
Happy Love Thursday!
HeatherK says
Lovely! You are truly inspiring me to try to get all five of us in a photo this year, not just the kids!
http://heatherk.typepad.com/heatherk/2008/10/love-thursday-sometimes-it-hurts.html
donna says
I didn’t notice the heart until later. Happy LT
http://lemondingo.blogspot.com/2008/10/made-with-love.html
Debora Silkotch says
Tummy warmer!
Happy Love Thursday.
http://dsilkotch.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/tummy-warmer/
Kyla says
These are wonderful photos and what a fun idea . . . using mirrors and all!
Mine doesn’t include family today . . . but part of everyday life.
http://thekreativelife.blogspot.com/2008/10/its-time-for-little-love-thursday.html
Happy LT everyone!
Jeanette says
that’s a self portrait?! Wow!!
Love them, they’re stunning! I think we should try that too.
Mine’s up too, and it’s also about Family
AscenderRisesAbove says
oh I agree. All I have of my own childhood is one or two polaroids. And I have misplaced the negatives to many of my daughters photographs.
today I have princesses on parade; with a link to bees knees on parade
http://ascenderrisesabove.com/wordpress/?p=4679
laura - dolcepics says
A little sunset, silhouette lovin’ for y’all:
http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/sunset-love/
Happy LT!
Robin says
I bet I have as many pictures of my cats, I’m pretty bad.
anyway, here is my contribution.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hismuse/2964929867/
Elizabeth Harper says
A love letter of a different sort….
http://www.giftsofthejourney.com/Elizabeth_Harper-Gifts_of_the_Journey/Blog/Entries/2008/10/30_Hope_%26_Possibility.html
Kattis says
Beautiful photos!
Happy LT!
http://www.tjornebrant.se/dagar/2008/10/30/love-thursday-14/
Angella says
We grew pumpkins in our garden and one reminded me of a heart…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourcrazylife/2987134078/
Chocolate on my Cranium says
Karen, we don’t see enough pictures of you. I was stunned by how beautiful you are. Love the family portraits!
LaShawn says
http://flickr.com/photos/lashawn/2961690112/in/set-72157607745843021/
Crazy brothers
mnkathy says
I love the happiness in these photos!
Here’s a little something I caught recently while hiking through the park with Nana and the kids when she was up to visit from Indiana.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2987189914/
Mariella in CA says
Love the martini advice!! Thank you for the nuggets of inspiration. Happy Holidays!! ~ M.
Shalet says
I set off to take some family photos this last weekend but got side-tracked by a hive of yellow jackets! Thanks for the reminder to try again! Your photos are fabulous!
Here’s this week’s LT for me:
http://peculiarmomma.blogspot.com/2008/10/love-thursday_30.html
Happy Love Thursday all!
FireMom says
http://stopdropandblog.com/2008/10/30/love-thursday-peekaboo/
Love Thursday always makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Gayle says
Karen, thank you for the great idea for getting a fun family self portrait!
My post is about the love that we put into the precious things we hand make for our families.
http://planetmfiles.com/2008/10/30/tiny-crochet-halloween-bag-fill-it-with-love/
Heather says
what a beautiful family! here’s mine: http://itaintmeyourelookingfor.blogspot.com/2008/10/birthday-fish-bowl.html
Miss LA says
I love your beautiful composition, how beautiful is your family …
Here is my Love Thursday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26187951@N05/2982151622/
bonggamom says
Mine is up, happy love thursday!
http://bonggamom.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween-hearts.html
Robin-bird says
That is a beautiful family portrait! honestly stunning!
http://robinbird.typepad.com/bird_tweets/2008/10/day-184-love-trio.html
Happy LT!
Jamie says
I’m showing the love for my little sisters today.
http://umbrellablog.com/love-thursday/love-thursday-family/
Janine says
I’d miss times like this with my daughter if I worked full time…
http://flickr.com/photos/25744047@N03/2987459884/
sperlygirl says
this is for your ‘sisters’ who just get it …happy love thursday!
http://sperlygirl.typepad.com/sperlygirl/2008/10/love-in-the-trees.html
Kathleen O. says
A little self-love, camera-love and vintage-look-love…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2984771055/
Shawna says
Lovin the last of the season’s colors :O)
http://tumblieweed.blogspot.com/2008/10/loving-autumn.html
Denese says
I am new to your blog but am oh so glad I found you (thank you to Corey at the Tongue in Cheek blog).
We are family-photo-fanatics, and although I have a few I’d like to submit under the ‘images of love’ (of family) title, here is one of our son after a 6 mile cross country meet run, trying to give his dad a BIG hug (the only reason why ‘dad’ isn’t hugging back as enthusiastically as usual is because said son is totally sweaty!)…
I hope to be learning from all of you great women photographers, as I plan to check-in often. Yay for you all!
My blog is: DLouisianaT.blogspot.com
Denese says
I guess the link doesn’t show up in the comment if I put it in the author URL section…
Here is the photo of son and dad after cross country run:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y0FqNAiuRL8/SPk72-UHg1I/AAAAAAAAAQs/P4Hst8P5sIc/s1600-h/sljhuggingdaddyaftermeet.jpg
Brené says
I’m loving my little longhorn this thursday! hook ’em!
http://www.ordinarycourage.com
elizabeth says
happy love Thursday! What a great family portrait.
I saved this photo for today – I don’t know the gentlemen, but it was clear that they are old friends. 🙂
http://retinalperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/the-age-of-wisdom/
Farrah Braniff says
Love on this late thursday night is about love for EVERYONE!
http://farrahblog.squarespace.com/my-photo-life/2008/10/31/love-thursday-ross-tim.html
camerashymomma says
love your photos!! i agree, your daughter will remember the fun and the real life. and that’s what matters.
here’s my late love thursday photo, i took it on wednesday with shutter sisters in mind!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2987868271/
Francine says
a little late but here it is! 🙂 http://www.flickr.com/photos/raggafran/2975149998/