A Reason to Capture History and Print

Capturing History is a very important reason as to why I take photographs. Time changes all things, some rapidly and some over extend periods of time.   Sometimes because of the age of something, the history can become obscured and even lost over time. 

 A recent Facebook post by The Aggie Century Tree Project reminded me just just how important a historical photo is.  Andy of ACTP posted a picture from 1907 of the Century Tree on the Texas A&M campus.  This photo of the tree, then a mere 16 years old, captured a time very different on the Texas A&M College campus. A time of a young, all male military college, attend by a few thousand students.   A single photograph that some one thought to take, to preserved the begins of one of what has become one the most important symbols on campus.  A tree that has witnessed most of the 140-year history of Aggieland, including National Championships, men and women training for wars, countless Silver Taps, engagements and weddings and thousands of students earning their degrees.   While it is certain that the Century Tree has be photographed thousands of time since that early photograph (I have personal photographed it dozens of times) without this historic photograph, that has been preserved by the Cushing Library, the memory of that time would almost certainly be lost to time. 

ACTP’s post got me thinking about photos from my family’s past.   I am very fortunate to have had ancestors who valued photography.   I have photographs that date as far back as my great great grandparents and to the turn of the century.  Shots of my mother’s father as a toddler, my dad’s mother as a beautiful young college student, weddings, births, even of my great grandfather’s pharmacy from the 20’s.   Picture of my grandfather that I never met,  in Hawaii, in front of his plane during World War Two and countless others.  These pictures taken by family, friends, and photographers allow me to see and understand so many things that I would never otherwise be able to see.

As a photographer, I have the unique ability captured weddings, families and moments in time for my clients.  Moments that are preserved in print form.  Moments that I know 100 years from know may provide some of the same history and sense of pride and belonging. 

This is why I #CaptureHistory

This is why I #Print

Contact me today if you would like to  Capture the History of your family for future generations.

Photographs of my Grandfathers:

C.L. Crawley Sr,  photographer unknown

J Dan Hanna, Photographer probably Marie Hanna?

The Aggie Century Tree Project is a Texas A&M scholarship fundraiser involving sale of live oak seedlings raised from Century Tree acorns by Andy Duffie '78 of College Station, TX.