Can you remember the day when you received your first camera?
Do you still have your first, second and third camera – and have you thought of writing a journal sentence or two explaining how these prized possessions came to you?
Did you go on to take lots of photos of events and interesting places with that camera?
Was photography a hobby and did you enjoy handing over your film at the chemist; waiting with bated breath to find out when the photos would be ready?
Or was your camera a new whiz-bang Polaroid and you flapped the glossy white cardboard back and forth vigorously, pausing once in a while, to see the miraculous image appearing?
I’ve added the Soul Assets Prized Possession word template to the knowledge template page. This free template is a great way to start building a folio of pages that give future family members the knowing behind sentimental family possessions. My tip, before filling out the template – take a digital picture of your camera so you can upload the image straight into the template.
Keep reading below to see how I’ve remembered my Gram-pa for introducing the world of photography to me.
I remember my first camera, it was 1977 and for my 13th birthday Gram-pa bought me a secondhand 35 mm Kodak Retinette camera along with a book by John Wasley: The guide to practical photography (illustrated).
It was this event (Journal Code: CELEB for birthday) that ignited my interest in photography and once Gram-pa had learnt I’d taken the bait he then handed over his black and white darkroom to me. It wasn’t long before I’d out grown my Kodak camera and on the Christmas of 1978 my parents replaced it with a brand new Minolta SRT 100x SLR camera. It’s still a prized possession to this day, and is in a display case with the instruction book underneath. I’ve even scanned the receipt for the camera – it was the most extravagant material gift I’d received from parents up to this point in my life.
Your first camera, remember?
To complete this mini project for your memories follow these steps.
Step 1. Think about cameras you or your family have owned and why it was purchased. For example was it bought because you went on a trip (Journal Code TRAVE) or maybe because of a birth (Journal Codes NEWME or FPETS) or maybe it was a birthday (CELEB) or even inherited (DEATH) .
Step 2. Write the event in your family journal available on the template page.
Step 3. Filled out a Prized Possession Form for your camera also on the template page.