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Gordon Parks, one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century. I had heard of him, but really didn't know anything about him until I started researching for this blog post. What a fascinating person he was!He made a huge impact with his still photographs, and he also was a writer, film maker (he directed the movie "Shaft"), and composer.Parks was born in Kansas in 1912. He was a self-taught photographer. He was inspired by the likes of Dorothea Lange. Parks said, "I saw that the camera could be a weapon against  poverty, against racism, against all sorts…

February is Black History Month, so I thought it would be fun to look at the history of black photographers. From Jules Lion, who made daguerreotypes in New Orleans in 1839, the year after they were  invented, to contemporary photographer Yannis Davy Guibinga, black photographers have made significant contritions in journalism, portraiture, fashion and art.P.H. Polk was one of those artists. He went to school in 1916 at Tuskegee Institute with the intention of becoming a painter like Van Gogh or Rembrandt. But he was told by the institute's founder, Dr. Booker T. Washington, that he should take…

Hanging pictures can seem like a daunting task. With a few tips, you can hang them perfectly the first time, without making your wall look like baby swiss cheese.Hang the portraits at an appropriate height.  People tend to hang their pictures too high instead of where the eye naturally goes. You want to hang your pictures so that the center of the frame is about 57" above the floor. If you're hanging your pictures over a couch, place the bottom of the frame about 6"-8" above where someone's head would be (you don't want them banging their head into…

You gotta love National Candy Day. A little something sweet always hits the spot. Candy is one way we show that we love someone.I have to admit, I'm somewhat of a candy snob. If it's not chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, I'm not interested.Candy brings back memories for me. For several years, when I was in elementary school, my mother made homemade chocolate covered peanut butter eggs and opera fudge for Easter.  We lived near Hershey, PA, so we'd all pile in the car and go to the chocolate factory to pick up a giant, I mean giant, bar…

Recently, a friend told me that her mother's doctor had suggested she create a photo album for her mother, who has Alzheimers.The care you take in creating this book and learning more about your parent or grandparent is a wonderful "love letter" to your loved one.I started doing some research and found some information I wanted to share:Make sure the faces in your photographs are large enough to see details.Include all the people your loved one interacts with now.Also include significant people, events, places from the past.You might not want to include people who have passed away if…