Words and Letters

It's time for Donna's Personal Photography Challenge. Each month, Donna, an accomplished photographer, sets a challenge for those who want to join in. She provides links to sites that offer advice and inspiration for the particular topic.  It's fun! Perhaps you would like to join in next time.

This month, the challenge was Words and Letters. Here are my interpretations:

Focal length 6.0, 1/100s, f2.8, ISO 100

Last November, my mother gave me an old hymnal that belonged to my maternal great-grandmother, Agatha Rempel, born in 1897. The book was given to her by her father in 1903, in Chortitza, now part of the Ukraine. Agatha came to Canada, married, and later gave the book to my biological grandmother, also named Agatha, who married my grandfather. She died about 6 months after the birth of her 10th child. My grandfather then married Agatha's sister, Mary. In reality, Mary was my great-aunt, but I knew her and loved her as my grandmother.

Focal length 6.0, 1/50s, f2.8, ISO 100

 The book is in German, although, oddly, printed in the United States in 1880 by the Mennonite Publishing Co. Although I cannot read German, I love the look of the text. Paging through I found this postage stamp sized card with the words The Lord is my Shepherd in German. I wonder which of my forebears placed it there.

Focal length 6.0, 1/60s, f2.8, ISO 100

Handwriting is unique to each person. When I look for recipes in my old-fashioned recipe box, I enjoy the handwritten cards most. The handwriting of friends and family is a reminder of personality.  I wish we used handwriting more. Modern technology makes writing by hand almost unnecessary.

I have a box of old letters. The above photo is taken from a letter written to us in Ecuador by my paternal grandmother Katrina (known as Tina). Sentences follow each other without regard for capitalization or much punctuation. No matter. Love is conveyed by the words and the very act of sitting down and taking the time to write.

I'm looking forward to reading other bloggers' interpretation of this Personal Photography Challenge. Thanks to Donna for hosting, and for encouraging us all to become better photographers.