Mary Beth was in my studio last night during San Rafael’s monthly Art Walk. She was showing her son Gabriel images I had made in Europe as a teenager.
My grandmother feeding pigeons in Venice’s Piazza San Marco taken with a Kodak Baby Brownie. I remember thinking, “What a fool she is making of herself!”, but then, what do teen-agers know?
Mary Beth reminded me that the last time she visited my studio, I shared my experience of working with the photos on my computer, when suddenly detailed memories of the trip, buried in deep reaches of my brain, came rushing back. We talked about the value of early experiences and of memory-jogging photos. What is “early”? I was eighteen when my grandmother shared places she loved in Europe and North Africa.
Then Mary Beth told me her big news. She had just made reservations for a week in Paris. In June, in Paris … Gabriel will have just turned ten. Lucky Gabriel!
Ann Brooks Photography 
Your photographs are really beautiful and inspiring.
samanthadonphotographyblog
April 15, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Thank you so much, Samantha.
annbrooksphoto
April 16, 2014 at 10:54 am
I was sleeping this morning and the name Anna Brooks
came up when I woke up. I came down to the computor wrote the name. A number of of anna brook showed. I just picked your web and the first I saw was THE BLUE DOOR which reminded me my childhood home in Ethiopia which is very simlar.
I wonder where it comes from and what it is?
So sorry to send this mail it is strange.
kind regards
mengistu temtemie
mengistu
June 26, 2009 at 5:54 am
Mary Beth, thank you so much for your lovely comment.
June is nearly here. Bon Voyage to you and Gabriel. ~ab
annbrooksphoto
May 19, 2009 at 12:17 am
Such is the power of art to inspire.
And the power of humans to inspire each other.
As Ann & I chatted about the photo and how her grandmother had taken her to Europe for the first time and what a life-changing event it had been, it inspired me to to go for my dream of taking Gabriel to Paris. It was one of those, ‘Life is too short- What am I waiting for?’ moments.
Mary Beth
May 18, 2009 at 10:08 pm