Worth a Thousand Words

I came across this amazing true story the other day; it made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me feel as if I was there in the story, in every picture. This beautiful story is by Phillip Toledano and it's called "Days with My Father". It's a photo journal he started shortly after his mother passed away, and its the story of the last days he spent with his father, who at the time was in his 90s. This heart wrenching account is told with moving photos and beautifully written captions. The captions really help you to appreciate the photo and the story being told that much more, as well as the heartfelt relationship the author/photographer shared with his father (Link further down).

I suppose the reason this photo journal resonated with me so much is largely because one of my greatest fears is losing my parents. It may sound silly but I feel afraid of it everyday; you see, I'm somewhat morbidly inclined (I inherited it from my paternal grandparents). I try not to think about it, but often I do, I well up even as I write this. That's why it's so important for me to appreciate the years we have together, to tell my parents I love them everyday, even if it's only in an email, to spend time with them whenever we can; so much so, that when Samuel and I finally start a family, my parents are planning to get a house next door (not a joke!) and for me I think that is the way it should be.

It also reminded me of the power of the still image, of why I love photography so much, of what a single image can mean to the person it belongs to. For me one of the markers of a great photo is does it move you in some way? Do you have an emotional response to it? It doesn't necessarily have to be a technically correct photograph or perfectly composed, but if you react to it, even if it's just a simple thought of "oh that's really beautiful"then I feel the image is doing it's job, or rather the photographer.

Have a look at this story; if this can't help ignite some passion for the power of the still image then I guess we will have to agree to disagree!
* It's not very long and if you hover towards the bottom of each photo you can click to the next one. Many of them have captions, the prose is lovely.

Please do click on this link below and have a look, it's so worthy of a read.

http://www.dayswithmyfather.com/

When I read this it reminded me of some of my favourite photos from our wedding day and what they mean to me, of how these special photos have captured some of the most special moments in my life. (All photos by Anna Rosell)

This photo is of a really special moment between my Father and me just before the ceremony started. We were both extremely nervous, or as my father would say "crapping myself" about walking down the aisle in front of everyone. I remember we were terrified our walk would be ridiculous or that my Dad would step on my dress and rip it, or worse, I would fall over. So we decided to practice for a little while. I love the way we are both so focused on that moment and I love the way I'm holding his arm. It was a moment that so easily could have been missed, easily forgotten, but I love that I have this reminder and one day will be able to show our kids.

I love this next one; it was during my father's speech and in this moment he was talking about my Mum and what a wonderful wife and mother she is, and she truly is. I just love the way she is looking up at him; she looks the happiest I have seen her. I mean just look at the emotion in her eyes! This is one of my favourite photos from the day.

This next one is of me during my father's speech. He wrote this beautiful poem for Samuel and me and I hadn't heard it prior to the wedding day. I had no idea this was being taken and it really captured how I felt in that moment. Even though you initially can't tell from the image what part of the speech it was, I just knew when I saw it, that it was taken during the poem.

This last one captured me with the hugest smile and I love the way my Dad and I are looking at each other, with Samuel looking on in the background, while he danced with my Mum. We were all so happy and proud on that day and this photo really shows that.

I thought I would finish with a picture of my parents together, simply because I love them and they look pretty damn good...not just for their age, but for any age!

I hope you enjoyed the photo journal and these photos. If you have any comments, feel free to leave them by clicking on the comments link at the bottom.

Carrot Cake


To finish here is an amazing recipe for Carrot Cake. It's by Jamie Oliver and I have provided the link as I have not changed the recipe at all; it's so perfect it doesn't need changing! 


Jamie Oliver's Carrot Cake


What I will say is that you must, must not over cook it! I always check it around 10 minutes before the recipe's cooking time is up, just to be on the safe side. If it's nowhere nearly done, give it another 5 and check again. If it's nearly there, check every 2 minutes. An easy way to check is to put a cake tester in and see if it comes out clean; there should be no sloppy goo on it. If you don't have one, I suppose you could use a fork. Also, bear in mind it will carry on cooking while it sits in the tin. If you prefer, you could always make this with a traditional cream cheese frosting instead. This recipe calls for 100g shelled walnuts, I decided to use 50g walnuts and 50g pecans and it was lusciously good!


Enjoy!

Have a lovely weekend!
xx