Capture This Photography
Class Rings and Yearbook Pages
Posted by Laurie (New Jersey, United States) on 22 February 2009 in Abstract & Conceptual and Portfolio.
Boredom is an interesting motivator. The landscape is dull, not much reason to wander my regular haunts for photo ops the past week or so. It is just muddy and dull. So I've been bored...very bored.
My birthday is coming...later this week, so I've been waxing nostalgic. I came across my old class ring a couple of weeks ago in an old jewelry box. I don't really wear jewelry. I don't own much really good jewelry other than my engagement ring, anniversary band, and a ring that had belonged to my grandmother. I'm not really much of a jewelry person. I find jewelry kind of annoying to wear actually.
This year my youngest had the option of buying a class ring. My oldest got one, my middle son did not. We talked about it and I told him that while they are kind of fun at first, for the amount of money and length of time he will wear it, likely just during his Junior and Senior year and the summer before college, I think they are rip off and a waste of money. My oldest, who owns one, agreed.
Once you leave high school behind the ring sits in the drawer. I cannot think of anyone I know who wore their ring beyond the summer after their Senior year. I do know some that wear a college ring but not many of them either.
Now I look at the ring and I wonder why I still have it. My Yearbook on the other hand has been quite well thumbed through the years. I wasn't that fond of High School. It was not the most memorable time in my life and was rather anti-climactic. In a couple of years it will be my 30th reunion...not sure if I will go, I haven't gone to any of the others. Maybe I will go to the next.
That is my ring and my yearbook, yes that is my senior photo just behind the ring and yes I do know it is blurry, and no I will not shoot one with the photo in focus...
Oh yes, boredom was the motivation behind this shot.
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Jean-François from Les Issambres, France
comme cette photo est belle .......................... c'est fantastiquement fait ! bravo !
22 Feb 2009 6:29am
bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada
Nice shallow depth...I like the hint of yesterday as it adds to the nostalgic feel. Nice, Laurie!
22 Feb 2009 6:42am
Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain
This is a very good shot and composition. The ring is perfect, and the image gives a feeling of nostalgia very deep.
22 Feb 2009 7:28am
EYES WIDE SHUT from The library of my soul, United Kingdom
Ah Laurie, I have just utilised my special add on for the limited edition 2001 Paint shop pro 7 pack that I run, called the 'NASA PHOTOGRAPHIC ENHANCER' filter. I now have a perfectly clear shot of your yearbook photo and suggest that you contact me to discuss possible incentives for me to NOT post the image tmorrow on my blog...... Ha ha
This is a great post, Laurie, and I love the photograph, how you tease us with your DOF and capture the close up deteails so well. You know, I have had many chances for reunions, and even just getting back in touch with school freinds on facebook, and I have always declined such chances. For me it is partly because I am a very shy and quiet person who likes privacy, and also because I view that period as my life as crucially important, but also ultimately, over and done with. I am a very different person now, and I do not really want to relive my past, more, move on and enjoy each stage of my life and embrace whatever the future holds.
A really exellent post, Laurie, thank you
22 Feb 2009 8:20am
@EYES WIDE SHUT: Oh Nooooooo! Don't do it! You will scare people away from your blog if you post it. Is that incentive enough? :)
You echo my sentiments. I feel quite the same way. It is a part of my life that I have moved on from and no I am not the same person I was those many years ago. Those years have helped to sculpt who I am today but there is so much more since then that have left deeper marks on who I have become.
Craig from Vacaville, California, United States
Laurie, I really appreciate this photo! You are talented. Not everyone can do a photo like this. I also appreciate your thoughts on jewelry and high school and the art of reminiscing. I, like you, don't wear jewelry; but, at times in my life I have. When I did, I found that the jewelry enhanced or was an extension of my personality. I think that wearing jewelry is just a personal option and not a good or bad thing necessarily. I don't go to reunions because I hated high school. It was a very oppressive period in my life. However, I remain in close contact with three of my old buddies and one teacher. Wouldn't want to change that for anything. Again, it's a personal thing. Thanks for your thought provoking blog!
22 Feb 2009 9:26am
@Craig: Thanks...I used to love jewelry, in fact I worked in a Jewelry store in high school and also sold jewelry mail order from catalogs when the kids were small. Funny to think about that really. Most of the pieces I do have, have very special meaning for me, not particularly valuable but very sentimental.
I have kept in touch with a few of my friends from high school over the years. We drift apart, re-unite, drift apart, and re-unite. Everyone has very different lives than all those years ago.
Betty from New Jersey, United States
Eyes Wide Shut and Craig have said it all for me, also! I never attended a class reunion (my 45th is coming up), I hated high school! And I agree about jewelry! But your shot is just wonderful, Laurie. Thank for for echoing my sentiments! It's nice to know I am not alone in my feelings about high school!
22 Feb 2009 12:24pm
Sien from Valkenswaard, Netherlands
Oh...those were the days.
An amazing perspective and image Laurie!
Bravo...
Grz Sien
22 Feb 2009 12:38pm
Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France
nice composition and DOF, Laurie ! Beautiful memories of your years of student, it is a very particular tradition at the schools of the USA, I love it !
22 Feb 2009 1:15pm
Lilly from Atlantic Shores, United States
I lost mine.....but I was stupid at the time, and got the stone of the boy I liked..and not mine.
Silly girl, i was.
22 Feb 2009 1:36pm
Chris from South Jersey, United States
this stirs a lot of thought - I agree with you that the HS ring (which was so important at the time) has certainly faded in importance and now looking back it seems like a waste of money....
My 25th high school reunion is this year, and an old friend is organizing the reunion - I am still not sure if I will go or not, seeing the old photos and faces does bring back happy memories - but I am a very different person now and not sure how the "new me" fits in with the "old friends"......
22 Feb 2009 1:48pm
Yonatan from Bronx, United States
Laurie, you are so talented! You show it off perfectly with your skill in composing and creating this shot. My younger sister is now debating about getting a high school ring and I told her the same thing you wrote. I'm not even sure where my ring is...I think my father still has it in his safe. I wore it during high school and then once college started it was put away. A definite waste of money!
22 Feb 2009 1:49pm
Jason Kravitz from Brussels, Belgium
Laurie - good thoughts for my Sunday afternoon... it's funny how random people come in and out our lives at various times. As Eyes Wide Shut observes, the web and sites like Facebook makes it oddly convenient to reconnect with people we may have never cared to see or hear from again. Perhaps another consideration is that those people have changed and grown too and still may have something meaningful for where we are at any time in our lives.
Would you believe that someone from my high school graduating class (in Pittsburgh PA), lives a few miles away from me here in Brussels Belgium.
In any case - a good symbolic image and some meaningful thoughts for discussion
for what it's worth, I never bought a class ring - figured I wouldn't really wear it and still to this day don't wear a watch or any jewelry. As with most of life, we find meaning in different things at different times and like to try things on for a while to see how they fit - guess there's nothing wrong with that !
22 Feb 2009 1:53pm
@Jason Kravitz: Thanks...I have to say that I almost didn't post this one. I am so glad that I did. Reading these responses has been great fun. I am very glad that it has evoked such wonderful responses, and sparked such memories.
That is a great story that you have someone from your high school so close when you are so far from your roots. My neighbor is from Pittsburgh...maybe you know her. Small world isn't it?
Don from spokane, United States
A fine, nostalgic shot. I moved far away and did not attend a high school reunion until just recently. It was better than I expected! :-)
22 Feb 2009 2:39pm
sorter from tehran, Iran
nice colors i can see here..some fine colors ;)
take care
22 Feb 2009 4:38pm
JJ from Jersey City, United States
Its a wonderfully composed and lit shot, the detail in the ring is superb
back home in Nz class rings where not in vogue when I went to schol and dont think they are now, but I wonder must check with my girls and find out
22 Feb 2009 4:55pm
amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
I echo Eyes, Craig, Jason... et al. This image was definitely executed brilliantly as to get this response means you were able to convey your meaning not just by the image but also by your commentary. It is nostalgia personified, really. I've just realized that it'll be my 30th reunion next year. My school years were not the greatest either. I was the ubiquitous square peg trying to fit in the round hole... not a great fit.... not the nerd but not the cool kid either. But I think I'm a kinder and gentler person now because of that.
22 Feb 2009 5:05pm
@amy: Thanks Amy...I can definitely relate to your analogy. I never knew exactly quite where I fit into the whole High School scene. I was neither a cool kid or a nerd. I was sort of a "Hippie Chick", yes they still existed in small numbers in my school in the mid to late 1970's, but I was not totally comfortable with that label either. I think that was more a result of my older brothers' influences. They were 12 and 14 years older than I so they graduated high school in the 1960's at the peek of the Hippie era. I had a unique style and attitude from the Disco, Preppy, Hard and Heavy Metal Rock, Punk, or New Wave trends of that time when I was in high school.
All of that made me not quite fit in back then but those same traits are what made me who I am now. I am comfortable in my own skin now. I march happily to my own eclectic beat.
jamesy from christchurch, New Zealand
Great shot Laurie has greated alot of interesting comments. My 16 year old is in his second to last year at high school so I find it interesting to compare his experiences with mine.
22 Feb 2009 7:18pm
MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany
Okay, you don't like this ring, but you polished it well! :-)
Not sure if I'll attend my next class reunion (25th is approaching soon), in fact most people I just don't want to see. Times were completely different and I'm afraid to meet people who try to continue where we parted a quarter century ago. Then I just think: why not. Often events you are not too curious about turn out to be the more interesting.
22 Feb 2009 7:36pm
Viewfinder from Bradenton, FL, United States
Laurie, this is not only an excellent photo, but a very thoughtful post. Mine is the class of 1967. I went to my ten year reunion and have been to none since. In fact, with the exception of the 20 year reunion, I'm not even sure my class has gotten together again. I did not go to the 20 year epic. At the 10, it was amazing to me how much people had changed in appearance in just a decade; it would be depressing to see how much we've all changed after 42 years. In our minds, these faces and people have remained young, compressed in time. Reality can be shocking. And like you, I've got my class ring and my college ring, both saved, never wear either of them. The only two pieces of jewelry I wear now are my wedding band and my watch. As for HS friends, I see them only in my memories. And that's where it's best to keep them. Like you and many others have said, I am a different person now.
22 Feb 2009 8:44pm
@Viewfinder: My oldest brother graduated in 1967, I graduated in 1981.
It was quite a different time for each of us. But we both became different people irrespective of our generational differences, despite the era...One thing is universal and that is no one stays quite the same after so many years.
k@ from Paris, France
Very interesting shot and text that make me think that what counts is Present first - Yesterday's present was fine (when it was yesterday :) Today's today, and it's such a precious thing we waste with nostalgia for the past and stress about the future. Let's try to live the very moment we're in - photography is such a great lesson about this, isn't it ? Thanks for your clever post !
22 Feb 2009 9:29pm
dogilicious from Millerstown, PA, United States
Very nicely done. I agree about the ring. You just had to have one but I haven't had mine on in 20 years.
22 Feb 2009 9:35pm
Emilio Garcia from Pleasanton, United States
Most of what can be said about your excellent photograph and commentary has been said. Very cleaver and excellently executed image. Regarding the numerous comments I must say that I am intrigued by the great number of people that seem to have kind of bum memory of their high school years. I married my high school sweetheart came to the US from Chile and have fond memories of high school. However, I have attended a couple of quasi-reunions and have been quite disillusioned by how apart I have grown from the old friends. In closing, and to add to the fact that this is indeed a small world: two friends from our high-school and grammar school years live just a few miles from our home after having lost contact with them for several decades.
22 Feb 2009 10:55pm
Fliss from Melbourne Beach, United States
I could never understand the whole class ring thing in the US... but it was very interesting to read what you said about the whole thing...
22 Feb 2009 11:58pm
ordinaryimages from Kentucky Bluegrass, United States
Interesting back story. [ Had to force myself out into the grey today, I was out of images : ] best...jerry
23 Feb 2009 12:03am
Jen from Alpharetta, United States
Boredom can bring some very interesting pictures
I still have my class ring too...the stone broke out many years ago (long story)...and I have yet to figure out where my senior yearbook is! : (
Great shot
23 Feb 2009 12:34am
Barbara from Florida, United States
Boredom at it's finest. Excellent macro, Laurie. The clarity of the ring is remarkable and with the yearbook in the background is perfect.
I had the best time at my 30th class reunion. I went to 10, 20 and 30th.
23 Feb 2009 1:03am
dik from McAllen, United States
Funny how an image like this can bring on a flood of memories. Reminds me of my father. His most cherished object was his college ring. I now have it. Very nice.
23 Feb 2009 1:51am
Evelyn from Berkeley, United States
Ooh, nice and crisp macro.
I don't wear jewelry either, though my mother likes to give it to me on birthdays. I like to think that jewelry serves a symbolic function in our lives...but sometimes symbolism is not as moving as imagery.
23 Feb 2009 2:49am
Andrew Gould from Sydney, Australia
Love this idea for the shot and how well you've carried it out. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts in the note, too. Interesting that you have that tradition of class rings, which we don't over here.
23 Feb 2009 2:57am
Alfredo J. Martiz J. from Panama City, Panama
Nice composition for the photo, as for your feelings, I can only encourage you to experiment at home, look around and you will find many abstract opportunities, =)
23 Feb 2009 5:07am
MAGDA from Canada
I love the detail and clarity of the ring! And your photograph, even though it's blurry it shows your natural beauty! Great story behind this image....
23 Feb 2009 5:13am
akarui from Kagoshima, Japan
Creative shot with the juxtaposition of the ring and the book. The use of narrow DOF is great.
23 Feb 2009 5:58am
MontereyJohn from Salinas, California, United States
Geezers, what a great product / macro image. Bang on. Just super.
23 Feb 2009 4:07pm
Michael Rawluk from Williams Lake, BC, Canada
I never understood class rings. Very cool sharp shot.
23 Feb 2009 5:05pm
Doum from Saint-Alexandre d'Iberville, Canada
Excellent shot and montage! I like the sharpness details in the focus zone... and the background offer plenty of past emotions!
23 Feb 2009 5:17pm
Diane Schuller from Hythe, Canada
I don't know about others but that's actually the strength of this image: the ring is tack sharp with the photo shown only in a shallow dof -- very effective and a much better image if they both were in focus.
23 Feb 2009 6:07pm
Rui from Leiria, Portugal
Very well done. Great coposition. Excellent use of DOF, hidding the face and showing the details of the ring.
Memories of past times.
23 Feb 2009 6:30pm
Jasp from Plymouth, United Kingdom
It may be blurry but you can still make out a wonderful smile there !
23 Feb 2009 8:50pm
djedfre from schaumburg, United States
beautiful color, theme and clarity! Nikon should pay you for promoting the d700 (i know i want one every time i come here)!
24 Feb 2009 9:55am
Rabbit from Richmond, United States
Nice composition. Who needs the whole thing in focus - its just as if a memory that was so long ago has became harder to remember, and sorta fuzzy.
25 Feb 2009 11:33am
Taitt Photography from Chicago, United States
this is so classy and relevant.
very moving and thought provoking as well.
cool,cool,COOL....
26 Feb 2009 1:41am
Ricardo from Valencia, Venezuela
This is an interesting image! looks like an ad for something! love the detail and color in the stone!
1 Mar 2009 6:50pm
Nikon D700
1/320 second
F/22.0
ISO 200
60 mm