Lindsey Dalthorp

Photographer

Portraits of Home: the family album

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Location: Olympia, Washington

Nationality: United States

Biography: Lindsey Dalthorp is an independent artist, photographer and teacher from Olympia, Washington. Main themes in her photography include community, history and social justice. Her work has been featured in Olympia’s progressive newspaper ... MORE

The moment it all began. Olympia, Washington c. 2000

The Dalthorp family. American Midwest c. 1920

Yours truly. <3 Olympia, Washington c. 1997

Main Street. Morton, Washington c. 1971

My mom in Europe, shortly after...uating from University. c. 1975

My mom in Europe, shortly after graduating from University. c. 1975

Grandpa Bennett and his wife Ida. Morton, Washington c. 1975

Mother/Daughter photos (taken e...rs). Morton, Washington c. 1971

Mother/Daughter photos (taken every few years). Morton, Washington c. 1971

Summertime fun in the Pacific Northwest. c. 1975

The first thing you do when you...in. Brimson, Minnesota, c. 1965

The first thing you do when you arrive back home at the lake: dive in. Brimson, Minnesota, c. 1965

My dad's old cabin. Brimson, Minnesota c. 1965

"Pony Boy" (G...ne). Morton, Washington c. 1950

"Pony Boy" (Grandpa Gene). Morton, Washington c. 1950

Another Amburgy family gathering. Morton, Washington c. 1970

Taken only a few years after my...ngton Cascade Mountains c. 1980

Taken only a few years after my mom had written in an earlier photo album that the only PNW outdoor sport she didn't like was skiing. Somewhere in the Western Washington Cascade Mountains c. 1980

My dad and his best friend Dennis. Northern Minnesota c. 1975

Living free at the cabin. Trout Lake, Washington c. 1999

The Colombia Gorge. c. 1985

Grandma Valeria and Grandpa Zeke. c. 1965

My 2nd grade school portrait (g...ed. Olympia, Washington c. 2004

My 2nd grade school portrait (glamorous velvet top, fairy pin, and handmade earrings). Not a thing has changed. Olympia, Washington c. 2004

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Thumbnail of The moment it all began. Olympia, Washington c. 2000

Thumbnail of The Dalthorp family. American Midwest c. 1920

Thumbnail of Yours truly. <3 Olympia, Washington c. 1997

Thumbnail of Main Street. Morton, Washington c. 1971

Thumbnail of My mom in Europe, shortly after _duating from University. c. 1975

Thumbnail of Grandpa Bennett and his wife Ida. Morton, Washington c. 1975

Thumbnail of Mother/Daughter photos (taken ev_ars). Morton, Washington c. 1971

Thumbnail of Summertime fun in the Pacific Northwest. c. 1975

Thumbnail of The first thing you do when you _ in. Brimson, Minnesota, c. 1965

Thumbnail of My dad's old cabin. Brimson, Minnesota c. 1965

Thumbnail of "Pony Boy" (Gr_ene). Morton, Washington c. 1950

Thumbnail of Another Amburgy family gathering. Morton, Washington c. 1970

Thumbnail of Taken only a few years after my _ington Cascade Mountains c. 1980

Thumbnail of My dad and his best friend Dennis. Northern Minnesota c. 1975

Thumbnail of Living free at the cabin. Trout Lake, Washington c. 1999

Thumbnail of The Colombia Gorge. c. 1985

Thumbnail of Grandma Valeria and Grandpa Zeke. c. 1965

Thumbnail of My 2nd grade school portrait (gl_ged. Olympia, Washington c. 2004

Public Story

Portraits of Home: the family album

Updated Feb 2021

Location Olympia, Washington

Topics American Studies, Community, Documentary, Family, Family Archive, Family History, Friends + Family, Historical, Photography

For generations my family has kept photo albums, a tradition passed on mainly by the women. It used to be a normal part of life to save physical copies of photos, newspaper clips and cards–before the internet changed all that. My mom and my grandma together saved hundreds of photographs; including the extended family, the collection amounts to an extensive documentation of life and the changing times in a small logging town in the heart of Washington State. The photographs from my dad's side tell the story of a never-stay-in-the-same-place family spread all over the country, who returned to their small Northern Minnesota hometown each summer to work in the woods and play in the lakes and spend time together.

The images included in this project are a selection of scans of photographs taken and saved by my mom, dad and both my grandmothers (plus a few classics from my lifetime). It is intended as an exploration of the people, places and experiences that make us who we are, bringing into question the very essence of what home means to each of us; the importance of family, history, tradition, and place in forming the foundations of our lives, and how old photographs and documents allow us to form a connection to our ancestral past.

This project is the beginning of a greater historical research project regarding the extensive photographic documentation that exists of American families throughout the 20th Century, made possible by the relative accessibility of cameras for everyday Americans beginning around the 1920s. The subsequent prominence of family photo albums brings into question what this extensive documentation represents in light of the major technological advances into the digital age that have made the practice of keeping physical photographs nearly extinct.