Photos of photos with Alexis Gebhardt (Part II)
And a photo scanning hack!
Last week, I wrote about Alexis Gebhardt’s most cherished childhood video. Today, I’ll be discussing her most beloved childhood image.
The photo that Alexis chose to submit to What’s Past is Present is a photo of a film print (she’s pretty sure it was taken on film) of herself and her younger brother, Blake.
Alexis told me that the photo is from a time when her younger brother, Blake, still didn’t mind being photographed. Didn’t we all experience a phase of loathing all forms of photographic pursuits that involve us as the subject? That’s a sweeping generalization, because many young children love the limelight. And perhaps that’s another important current in the changing tide of memory documentation: possessing old images and videos often symbolize the emotions within the documentation, but they do not alone represent such emotions. Los Angeles-based photographer Josh S. Rose writes on Medium that as younger generations today are growing up with “a near-perfect recallable set of images of every single day of their childhood (and life events), there leaves little doubt on the document of their existence. It seems a new generation has evolved that is less focused on what they said, or did, but how they are making other people feel.”
“For some reason, I remember posing for this photo. I don’t know why, but I do.” - Alexis on her favorite childhood photo.
Alexis is no exception to embracing the emotions that are associated with looking at her old photos and videos. For people who have experienced loss, looking at past media that existed at the time the loved one was alive can be emotional. For Alexis, it’s a difficult but essential way to honor her dad’s legacy.
“Photos are really important because it’s helpful to see how my life was before I was 12 years old,” she said.
Alexis’ mother took this image around 2005, back when she regularly dressed Alexis and Blake in matching outfits. Here’s what Alexis has to say about the photo:
“For some reason, I remember posing for this photo. I don’t know why, but I do. My mom literally carried us on to the platform. We’re super excited to be at Disney World because that was back over at Magic Kingdom and my mom loved the idea of putting us in matching outfits, so that’s why we look like we’re matching, because we are. I think she liked the idea because we’re only 13 months apart and back then, as you can tell from the photo, we look exactly alike. I mean, there are subtle differences, but we are pretty similar.”
As for how Alexis was able to capture such a nice looking photo of a photo? The answer is Adobe Scan, which, according to Axios, has 100 million registered users as of this past June.
So, if you’re thinking of posting that old film print to Instagram (or perhaps you are gathering materials to submit to What’s Past is Present), try downloading the Adobe Scan app.
“Look at this photograph. Every time I do, it makes me laugh”- Nickelback from their 2005 hit single, “Photograph.” - Mimi