We make a lot of assumptions when we look at a photo and try to tell the story. Sometimes we fill in the blanks of the who, what, where, when, and why of an image. Take this photo for instance.
Without knowing all the details we can assume that this is a special occasion, perhaps a wedding. But what’s the real story? Are the women wearing bridal flowers they selected or are they a prop?
Randy Baehr had a chance to interview his paternal grandfather and preserve it in an audio recording. It’s a wonderful family treasure to be able to hear the sound and timbre of his grandfather’s voice. Have you done that? You might be surprised what you learn about your loved ones and their pictures. Randy was.
Photos are memory triggers. In my experience, asking someone about a photo doesn’t always result in information about that image, instead you end up with a related tale. In Randy’s case, he heard about a love story that happened prior to the studio date.
In this image (enhanced with Vivid-Pix Restore AND the MyHeritage.com photo tools) are the following individuals. Seated, Erwin Gottlieb Baehr (1890-1979), groom; standing with arm on chair, Eva Oerter (1892-1965), bride; standing, Augusta Oerter (1894-1977), bride’s sister and maid of honor; Edward Baehr (1893-1976), groom’s younger brother and best man. Taken 13 Oct 1913, at Woody Studio, St. Louis, MO.
Take a listen. It’s the story of how the couple met and the details in the wedding photo.
So now I want to know if the Woody Studio made a practice of adding flowers to pictures. If you have a photo taken at the Wood Studio, St. Louis, MO and the subjects are wearing corsages, can you share it with me on this social post?
Need Help Telling the Story
Learn to tell the story of your pictures with my signature five questions: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These topics and more are covered in my Identifying Family Photographs Course.
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