When someone walks into our apartment, they are greeted with what we refer to as our “Gallery Wall”. It is a collection of 50 or so of our favorite stories – turned into pictures – on display for all to see. It took planning and preparation and time to put it together, but in the end our efforts were worth it. Because it wasn’t until this collage was on display that our new apartment finally felt like our new home.
What is it about displaying pictures that makes a house feel like a home and what pictures meet the criteria for wall adornment? Why is it that our new apartment didn’t feel like ‘home’ until this collage was on our wall? This is something I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately, and I think I’ve finally found my answer.
Josh and I find value and meaning in printed pictures because we find value and meaning in the life that we have lived and created. If you look closely at the Gallery, you will find evidence of loved ones who have passed on, our wedding day, our best friends, our silliness, and our adventures. The same way it takes individual chapters to compose a book, it takes individual images to express the fullness of our Story. Because there are some moments that simply cannot be described with words (like walking down the aisle to marry my Love), but can be understood by seeing the look on my face in a photograph. Home is a place where all it takes is a quick glance at picture-covered walls to be reminded that yes, I am loved.
Does your home tell your story or is it just your facebook page that talks? Can your children see, every single day, the joy on your faces as you exchanged wedding vows? In an age of twitter, iPhone, and instagram, we need to protect the art of printed pictures. We need to tell our stories on our walls and not just in our computers.
A picture says a thousand words when even a thousand words seems insufficient to tell the fullness of our story. So we will keep living, keep photographing, and continue to share our adventures. Because that’s what photography is really about anyway, isn’t it? A visual representation of our stories and adventures; tales told in photographic chapters; stories that have shaped us and others… stories that deserve to be told because they have made us who we are today.
By Leslie McCracken
“Leslie is an avid lover of life and especially cherishes her roles as a wife, daughter, sister, and friend. She blogs at ShowtheWonder.blogspot.com; a space where she chronicles the “Wonder” that shows up in daily life. She and her husband currently live in Michigan, but are preparing to move overseas in 2012 to do humanitarian work. Their passion for each other and love for others propels them out of their comfort zone regularly, and so far has resulted in a life of adventure!”
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