The desire to capture a moment in time has always been part of my nature...
So began my college essay, typed on a typewriter, back when there was no such thing as a Universal App, only blanks to fill in on dozens of pages, carefully unstapled and imperfectly aligned under the paper bail.
(I looked it up -- that's the name of that silver roller bar!)
My dad photocopied the applications at his office so I could do rough drafts. Because once you started typing, the pressure was on. There was no going back.
Greetings from 1987, where everything was analog.
Except maybe the VCR.
Ten years before that -- on my 8th birthday -- I got an instamatic camera with 4 flashcubes and a roll of film scrolled up like a tiny Torah.
Cue the Fotomat envelopes -- every 12 or 24 snaps -- stuffed and sealed and mailed at my dad's office.
Like magic, my photos "came back."
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| They were trendy, really -- Squared edges and faded hues, decades before Instagram! |
By the end of 8th grade, I'd earned enough babysitting money to buy myself a real camera.
For 2 decades, that Nikon FG dangled around my neck.
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| It was almost as big as I was! |
Fast forward many more years and miles.
Now, like most people, I carry a do-it-all iPhone, but my desire to capture a moment in time is still firmly grounded.
In analog.
I'm a collector of moments. The kind you can hold in your hands.
Just ask my travel buddies, who roll their eyes at the growing pile of sugar packets, candy wrappers, napkins, ticket stubs, brochures, and receipts on every trip we take.
I can't help it.
To me, "found souvenirs" capture the journey better than any keychain or magnet!
But what do you do with all that stuff once you get home?
At Mile 13,853, I try making a zine. |
| What's a zine? A handmade magazine of storytelling + collage, two of my favorite things! |
I learned about zine-making at a workshop at Elfreth's Alley, in my neighborhood.
But my memory of zines stretches back much farther.
In college, my friend Chip created one. He wrote the content, patched it together with scissors and glue, and Xeroxed copies the old-school way at Kinko's.
Zines are still self-published and old-school, but it seems they're making a comeback.
Some bookstores have shelves for them. There's even a Zine Library in Philly. (Haven't been there yet, but it's on my list!)
I'm a beginner though, so this one's just for me.
I gather up scraps from my April weekend in London, print a few pics, and pull some key words from my journal. I uncap a glue stick.
In an hour or two, I wrangle them into a pocket-sized reader.
Have a look!
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| Cheerio! |
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| Notting Hill landmarks |
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| Yogurt and buses and tea, oh my! |
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| Mushy peas? Yay or nay? (I say YAY!) |
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| Chatting up one of the King's bodyguards... |
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| ...and yes, the Crown Jewels gave me a migraine. (Seriously!) |
Zines are small but mighty.
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| Small world! |
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| *The end of the rhyme. It's a joke -- get it? :) |
Sure, we need digital to keep up with today's breakneck pace.
But scissors, scraps, and gluesticky fingers bring me back to my old self.
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| 1980's style! |
How do you capture the moments?
Rebecca
