veils

I’m continuing to selectively digitize my old photos and I bring you a comparison of the two methods: iPhone photo vs PhotoScan by Google.

Let me know if you have thoughts about which method is better quality, because it’s too much work to do both.

Because most of these photos are stuck in the old adhesive style photo albums, I’m having to pry them out if I want to see what (if anything) is written on the back. Then I’m stuck with a loose photo that I’ve been taping back into place with painter’s tape.

The photos above were taken on my “First Communion” day in April 1973. Despite my previously described love of veils, I remember I did not like that one. It was attached to a very uncomfortable headband that squeezed my head painfully. Perhaps this was a sign of the rocky road ahead for me and the Catholic Church.

Other than the painful headband, I remember getting some religious-themed presents (a Bible locket, an angel) and being made to feel quite special with a family party after the main event at the church.

I think we look like a real mid-century Italian-American family in these photos, but my dad is no Tony Soprano. He loved his mother (my long-widowed “Grammy”) dearly and she worshipped him. He was far and away her favorite child. As the only boy in an Italian family, he was extra special and he took great care of her until her death in 1992, just a month short of her 90th birthday.

These California wildfires (and the mass evacuations) have really got me thinking about what I would grab if I were forced to leave my home with very little notice. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the photos and the mementos that you just can’t get back.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a giant basement closet (plus a bin in the attic) full of old photo albums. I’m talking 30+ photo albums plus shoe boxes of old photos. There’s no way I’d be able to grab all of them in an emergency situation.

So, I think what I’m going to do is start selectively scanning them. I’m using the PhotoScan by Google app on my phone.

As a result of my first scanning session, I’ve discovered the root of my fascination with brides.

I always loved brides, bride dolls, veils, bouquets, etc. I remember sitting in my driveway as a kid watching in awe as my former babysitter emerged from her home across the street in her wedding gown. To this day, I will drop everything if I see a bride in the wild to gawk and take a photo.

Apparently it all started with my mother’s brother’s wedding. My Uncle Pete married Aunt Betsy around 1968 and I was the adorable toddler in attendance. My baby sister was too young to go (haha). They clearly made a big deal out of me.

My nana lifting me up to see beautiful Aunt Betsy in her spectacular veil

Planting a kiss on some little thumb-sucker at the wedding (I think a photographer set this up—I was not that assertive!)

Having some ice cream with my stylish Nana, who was probably about the same age that I am now

There are so many photos of me “playing bride” after that wedding. I could turn anything into a veil, including mosquito netting. And later, I had a bride doll with a tulle dress and veil that became a favorite toy.

It was an inauspicious start for a feminist-in-the making, but I chalk it up to the tulle. I loved spinning around in fluffy white tulle. And when it came time for my own wedding, you guessed it—tulle.