Photos are snapshots of a moment in time…

by: Ardena Brooks

Time that you can never get back. Special photos are full of cherished memories and treasured moments. Moments, that are valuable and tell a story. At the age of six I remember playing outdoors, when my parents called my brother and I to come inside to take a family photo. I can tell you I was not happy about that. I just wanted to keep playing with my friends. You see, my dad was in the Air Force and we would soon move to the Philippine Islands, and not be able to see our grandparents for a couple of years. We were four generations and taking this family photo was very important to my dad. Later I would realize how important taking that photo would be to me and my brother. 

Well, it’s been over 50 years since we took that photo, or even seen it for that matter. However, just a few years ago…after my grandmother passed, my brother and I, while preparing her house to be sold, found that very photo in a large box. 

I can’t tell you how happy we were to find that photo. First we laughed at those clothes we were wearing back in the day…so we called it. But this photo held wonderful memories of the special moments that we shared while living with our grandparents. I tell you many old stories began to come back. But more important we now have those memories to enjoy and share with the family.

But here’s the special part. We found out that our grandfather Turner Barnes was one of the first African Americans to be hired at the Bureau Engraving. Our grandmother was, one the first African American females hired, as supervisor for the National Security Agency (NSA). Our dad was a retiree from the Air Force, who fought in the Viet Nam war, and proudly laid to rest in Arlington cemetery. Mom, who resides with me today, served as an assistant to nurses during the Vietnam War in the Philippine Islands and worked for the VA hospital for many years after that. These are legacy memories and moments, facts and history within our own family, and now we share them with others…and will continue to share the stories of our own family history, because their lives matter, our lives matter. And so does yours!!!

Well, I decided to create memorable art from that photo, to save it from fading away, because that’s what photos will eventually do.  This family art piece is one of the most featured pieces of art that I exhibit today. We can never get these moments back, but we can preserve and enjoy them for a lifetime. Art, that features your own lives, history, culture and legacies, can be full of amazing stories to pass on.  

Why not embrace your special memories, that’s captured in photos and have them created into memorable and everlasting art? 

I’m Ardena Brooks, CEO and founder of Designs by Ardena, the master photographic artist, working with individuals and businesses to preserve their memories and capture their legacy moments in photographs, bringing life to their photos through art, to continue telling the stories and preserve for generations to come.

And remember your special photos are your special stories… don’t let them fade away!

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