When I was a little girl, in the olden days before technology got way out of hand so quickly, things were different when people wanted to tell you about their trip and show you photos.
In the somewhat upscale, genteel immigrant community that I part-way lived in (my parents being divorced, I had my feet in very different worlds), there was much to-ing and fro-ing to the Middle East, of course, but also to all sorts of exotic places in Europe and so forth.
I am going to tell you a little about this because I think, if you are under a certain age, you can hardly believe that for the most part, we only saw published pictures of cultural landmarks in black and white when I was young.
And that is funny that I find myself telling you this, because at the time I distinctly remember feeling quite sad that I would never have anything to say to a younger generation about my “olden days” — it all felt modern and fast and like the olden days were gone for good.
But here I am remembering that you had to work a little to find pictures of even the most famous places.
Sometimes Life or Look magazine would come out and you would see the glorious color, but you certainly couldn't just call up an image of, say, the Eiffel Tower, at will. Usually you were confined to the pages (somewhat musty smelling) in the encyclopedia. They were small.
So the people I'm talking about, being mostly engineers, were often extremely savvy at photography. Fancy cameras, spiffy movie cameras. Very large, heavy bags to tote all their gear. And then, when they got home, naturally, they wanted to tell you all about it; and it was an event, because you weren't saturated with pictures of the Eiffel Tower — not at all.
So you got together, because they wanted to show you their slides.
Slides were a form of photography that could be rewarding, I suppose. It was magical to be able to project your images on a screen so everyone could look at them at once, rather than the usual passing of prints and missing the descriptions!
But oh, the pitfalls.
First, you had to remember to get slide film and keep it separate from your regular print film. Then, you had to get it all developed (of course, just like regular film — you took your pictures carefully, sparingly, and then waited to get them developed, hoping that you had put the film in correctly, not exposed it prematurely, and wound it up properly).
Then you went through them with a little viewfinder to weed out the spoiled ones (all under- or over-exposed, or possibly of the pavement) and get them in order. You were always peering at slides, holding them up to the light, trying to figure out what they were of.
Then out came the carousel. The carousel was quite the innovation. I have a very dim memory of the other kind of slide projector, with two I don't know what you called them, and you put your slides in two by two and slid that thing back and forth in front of the light source, replacing them as you went, like a photo version of a confessional with two boxes.
Anyway, I remember my father getting all excited about the carousel. This way, all your slides went on at once, and the thing rotated through them one by one in front of the projecting lens/light (the fan humming away in the background as people exclaimed politely); but, if all went well, you didn't have to manipulate them once they were in there, except for reversing the occasional upside-down one.
Honestly, those did provide comic relief.
It was an investment. The carousels themselves, stacked in their boxes, all indexed, in the front closet; the projector; the screen….
The thing is, there was so very much room for disaster — disaster in the presence of company. Every single step of the way, right up to the darn thing jamming, the light burning out, or the screen refusing to stay up.
{And if the engineer in question were truly devoted to his craft, there would also be a movie showing, with the click-click of the frames and the fun of live action. The tangling or breaking of the film (with the careful splicing, requiring, of course, some sort of apparatus and chemicals — do I remember acetone? and Q-tips? — for the repair), the overheating of the film projector, the screen refusing to stay up — it was all part of the fun.}
All this was absorbing for the people who were directly involved. Not necessarily an immense amount of fun for the guests who were subjected to the process. And then, of course, there were the dozens and dozens of pictures… that got to be less and less exciting as the evening wore on.
It got to be that your eyes rolled when they said, “Come see our slides of our trip!” Careful side-stepping was called for when you knew they were likely to be back, those particularly thorough and savvy tourists… but sometimes… they were your dad.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
So, not that many pictures here, and part of me would love to have you over so we could look at them one by one on the big screen, sitting on the sofas in the living room, oohing and aahing together.
Sue says
This is so beautiful – the modeling of family life that you are doing is so precious, so important. You are blessed and have turned that into a blessing for us all.
Sonja says
I remember those carousels… and the endless slides I saw whenever my grandparents returned from one of their vacations – they took bus tours with travel groups. All very fancy and so very, very non-fascinating for me when I was 7 and looking at slides that were pictures of sand to me (and the SAHARA DESERT!!! for everyone else). I didn't quite get the excitement.
paula says
Staying up late with my Granny, looking through hundred of slides from the fifties and sixties, the whir of the projector motor and the clicking sound of the next slide falling into place: such sweet memories. My uncle put all the slides onto CDs so everyone in the family could view them and for a a short while, as I clicked through them all, I was with her once more.
Jeannie says
Paula, your last sentence gave me a lump in my throat.
I have seen my grandparents slides of my dad and aunts when they were little ones and my grandparents still in their 30s and I'm so glad that my grandmother still has them.
Cristina says
I still remember my grandfather's slides from Africa and being amazed at the giant anthills that were taller than he was! I need to find all those slides and convert them to digital files–I think you can buy a little device now to do it at home rather than sending them out . I think you've inspired a wonderful gift idea for his 90th birthday 🙂
Robin says
I remember being with my grandparents somewhere, when someone pulled with slides out from their trip to….Russia. A guest was very interested so no one could escape. Yes, to a 7 – 10 year old, that's what I wanted to do!
Love the California pics! What is that brightness that is all around you? Is that the….sun?
Mama Rachael says
So, you might find it humorous… my in -laws are still so into 'slides”. Its just that now they hook everything up the TV and we must sit and “oooohhh” and “ahhhh” over the big, full color pictures of little boy (mostly).
I remember slides, and I am a child of the 70s. We had a projector that the slices stacked in a cube, then dropped one by one into the slot in front of the bulb. I loved it, or it went out of style and budget when I was old to find it rather boring. I remember asking why we didn't look at or do slides any more and Dad said, 'too expensive and too much trouble”.
momco3 says
When I was young(er?) we had all these slides of our trips to Egypt, which would-travelers and history students would ask to see. As I got to be an easily-embarrassed teenager, I would try to steal from the carousel the one of me and my doll (purely for scale, if you'd ask my dad) at the feet of one of the statues at Luxor. Anyway, your post made me happy. Blessings, Annie
Claire says
Your photos are so good, I'm wondering how you all look so great all the time, even Pippo in his Jammie's! I love the story of the slides. I never experienced that at all. I was born in '77, and the people we knew did not have money. It's amazing to think how hard pictures were to come by, compared to now. What is that huge creature in the tank?! A little hippo?
athenamiles says
I would love to come and look at your pictures with you! 🙂 (But I'm weird like that). Also a child of the 70s who has memories of Dad's slide shows. Maybe that's why I love looking at other people's pictures now. 🙂
Debbie says
Loved the pics- wish I were there to see them all with you! Pippo is really cute, and has the expression of a Class A Sweetheart!
Laura says
completely unrelated comment! But either your daughters must be short/petite, or they all fall for really TALLmen! In every pic so far of Rosie, Sukie, and Deirdre, they look swamped by their hubbies! It's cute, I'm not being critical, but it did make me wonder whether the ladies are petite, or if the hubbies are all 6'5″?
_Leila says
Yes, Laura, those guys are all so tall! And the girls are small. I apologize to all the moms of tall girls for this.
Anitra says
We end up with the short men. It all balances out. 🙂
@brianabanana7 says
I almost bought a slide projector at an antique store the other day, just so I could see my grandfather's slides of Ireland and Scotland. He's long passed, but we still have those carousel wheels of slides.
DeirdreLMLD says
Ahhh I can't get enough of all of these!!!! Just too cute/adorable/lovely/fun!!!!
DeirdreLMLD says
Also, Pippo's PJs are RIDICULOUS!!!
And playing blocks with Papa seems like the perfect activity…
Kimberlee says
Fabulous pictures of such a wonderful time! Love the attack on Rosie by her menfolk.
But oh my goodness, your opening took me right back to my father's closet of slides and projecting equipment, conjuring up even the smell of those metal boxes and carousels, the shiny blue of the stand up screen, and those endless grainy black and white pictures. We used to call my father (may he RIP) Mr. Kodak, so much did he love pictures. Thanks for the memories! we must be of a nearly similar vintage. 🙂
tara says
My professors were still using slides for art history classes just 10 years ago. 🙂
Alice says
Pippo's pajamas are pretty much the cutest thing ever.
My grandfather, also an engineer, was also a great home-movie maker. There's one famous (and final) home movie scene in which my uncle is watering some roses…and my grandfather calls his name…and my uncle turns, with the hose…
After that he seems to have limited his at-home tinkering to breaking lamps with his aerospace models and getting really, really excited about my mother's science fair projects.
Rebekah Es says
Oh! I totally miss slide shows, too. So much shared joy.
These pictures are charming and really capture great memories!
Michelle says
Thanks for the memories! My Dad recently brought over the old projector and slides. My boys were fascinated and were in awe just by us trying to cover our large windows with blankets (we don't have curtains in he main part of the house). What in the world were we doing? We have to have darkness to see slides. WHAT?! It was a great afternoon.
Allison H. says
Wonderful to visit your family again!
Kindra says
I have to agree that I would also love to come over and look at your pictures. (And I mean that in the least creepy/stalker-ish way possible. 🙂 ) I have many fond memories of looking at my grandparents slides and pictures. My grandmother was an exceptional story teller and always had a knack for keeping the kids interested in the photos too.
MtMama says
Since I'll be celebrating my 50th birthday (well, not celebrating since it's in Holy Week) soon, I remember those days – mostly in the classroom. The teacher in our parochial school wheeled in a cart with the projector or movie player. I remember the click-clack sound, the excitement when the lights went off, the laughter when rewinding the reel as the characters moved backwards.
Your nostalgia also reminds me of a discussion my husband and I had with our kids recently about movies. We were reminiscing about drive-ins (not my favorite way to see a movie, but it was a novelty) and watching movies “in our day.” It took awhile for my kids to understand that when you wanted to see a movie, you had to go somewhere to see it and then only when it was playing. My 17yo looked confused and asked me repeatedly, “But what if you liked the movie and wanted to see it again?” Sometimes, I wish kids could experience the simplicity of life then.
Anitra says
We still have drive-in theaters operating near us, and it's definitely our preferred way to see movies “on the big screen” – cheaper and more kid-friendly than a regular theater. 🙂
Our kids don't even understand about broadcast TV – a few times when our DVR is acting up or I just want to see a DIFFERENT cartoon, I switch over to the “live” TV, and invariably my 4-year-old asks me to back up to the beginning of the show.
Anna says
Pippo has such a nice shaped head. My little guy is just a bit older than Pippo, so it's particularly interesting to me. And thus, another example of the issue with the slide show! If Uncle Richard just has a thing for street signs, it can get tedious, yes?
My strongest memory of slides isn't family vacations (we were farm people, vacations just didn't happen), but the Christmas carols on slides. It was lovely to sit in the dark and sing along.
Sara says
I would love to know where those pjs are from, I hate polyester and Never see loose cotton pjs.
Karen says
Good memories of the old days! But I like this Now when I can read blogs iike this on the internet.
And you are so lucky—-How did you get to the San Diego Zoo hippo pool at the exact time when the hippo was:
a) in the pool, b) swimming, and c) right in front of the glass? I'll bet you saw swimming polar bears, frolicking pandas, and cavorting elephants! Next time, I want to tour the zoo with you. The animals are asleep when I visit.
Anitra says
I am a child of the 80s, but also remember the ordeal of slides (and the boredom when you are a child!). Of course, my father was an engineer AT Kodak… so photography was a BIG BIG thing in our house – slides gave way to “Photo CD” presentations, and later he got an early consumer-level digital camera (and let his teenager borrow it for an extended trip to London! I was extremely careful with it, unlike my point-and-shoot film camera.)
We are definitely spoiled these days with digital photography and instant sharing online. It's gotten to the point that my mother and grandmother (who are not remotely computer-savvy) have to specifically ask me to share pictures, since I forget that not everyone has seen them already!
Shauna says
We have those same blocks! My son received them for Christmas when Santa saw them for a great price on Amazon. I wanted him to have “real” blocks – the kind we used in Sunday School when I was a kid. He has played and played with them, building countless airports, garages and castles. They really bring out his imagination! I hope our family gets years of play out of them.
Colette says
Laughed at the 'olden days' comment. So much has changed in the last 30 years since I was a kid. My kids have a hard time believing some of the things I tell them from my childhood!
Darby says
Hmm, this makes me wonder what ever happened to our slides from long ago? Must be packed up in a box somewhere.
When my kids were little we owned one of those behemoth video cameras. We have hours of VHS recordings of our family – especially on many Christmas mornings. My husband set the camera up on the tripod and just let it record. We have some great footage and some that will bore you to tears!
Your CA photos are wonderful. Pippo is a doll!
kayleen says
I have never seen a little boy look as cute as Pippo does in one.
kayleen says
In a hat, that is 🙂
Elizabeth C. says
Time with grandparents are so special. Those are memories to cherish!
dwija {House Unseen} says
Oh. California in February. Is there a better time? I think not!
Lindsey says
Looks like a grand time was had by all!
And slide shows – what sticks out most in my memory is the sound of the slides changing. And when one slide was upside down, the whole show stopped until Dad put it back in the right way!
Rebecca says
My father-in-law loves to get out the old movie projector and the 35mm movies when we come to visit. I *LOVE* it and wish I had a video camera now. It is especially fun because my husband and I bought his grandmothers' house, the house in which his father grew up so all the old videos are of OUR house decades ago. It is really wonderful. I especially like how there is no sound- it makes things so much better…like nothing is cluttered with people sounding silly- they are just being themselves. So yeah- older ways can often be much more fun ways.
🙂
Valerie says
{{sigh}} I remember so vividly my dad showing slides on our projector, the wall was our screen…it was a BIG event. Our cousins (with aunts/uncles) would come over and OH, what I fun time we had. My brother had an 8mm film projector and would “make” (draw) his own movies to show us siblings and the neighbor kids – FUN.
Thanks for the memories!
Kinga says
You must had have a wonderful time! I do remember slides! Watching them was my favorite family time as a child:)
I am a couple of minutes late with my {phfr} submission. I hope you don't mind and take a peek 🙂 http://kingamonika.blogspot.com/2013/03/pretty-ha…
Carrie says
Awesome. I grew up in the 70s and my family called it “watching pictures.” I don't ever remember having people over to do it, but we didn't go anywhere exotic either. We just put up the screen, popped popcorn and looked at us when we were smaller. We did also borrow movies from the library–all of us kids learned how to thread the projector. Great memories.