As you all know my first portfolio project was all about the family farm and I used one of the tobacco barns as my backdrop for all five photographs.
Earlier that year we thought the farm was going to be sold outside of the family. I rushed and made as many photographs as I could to preserve it for myself and family. This is a portrait that I took of my mother standing with the stairs to her bedroom behind her.
Even though my cousin and her family ended up buying the farm and transforming it back to it’s glory days, well, the house was too far gone to save. It had to be torn down and their new house is now standing on the original homestead’s foundation.
I am so glad to have this photograph as well as all of the others I took at that time. But there is more. Friday, May 31, a small tornado went through the farm property and several large tree limbs fell onto the old tobacco barn that I used in my portfolio. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I spent so much time there working on my project. The barn will be missed, but I have no regrets because it is preserved in my heart and in my photographs.
Ellen Hulin Photography 
I really love this post. It shows how much importance and value photographs can have and how they can help connect us with our past.
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I’m so glad to hear that you got the chance to preserve those memories. I remember your first portfolio project and I really loved it.
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Ellen, this is a nice photo. I’m guessing that you used window light for it. It is low key and sort of dramatic, which I like. It is great when you can preserve something with a photograph. It helps add to the memories. Sometimes we start to forget our memories, but if we have a photograph it can boost our memory and give a clear visualization. I can totally relate to you. My first portfolio project was also done on the family farm, and the farm is soon to be sold. I am glad that I have all the photos taken there, and I plan to go and take many more before it is gone.
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Ellen, I am glad that you took those photographs of the family farm too. My family farm was sold before I was born, so I will never have that opportunity. Photographs are a good way to preserve the past. In a lot of cases, that is all we have left of the past. I think portrait photography is a good choice for you. Take care.
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