MONOMONDAY: Portrait.

When Hobbs Run announced the theme for this weeks Mono Monday challenge, Portrait, I was in two minds....

The first thought I had was an ancient, posed portrait of my paternal great-grandparent....

My second thought being a "today" photo of someone in my life.

Being a tad indecisive at times can be a burden, so to ease my divided mind, I have added both.

In the photo above, you see Edmund and Alice Mottershead. Both of my great-grandparents were born in Ardwick, Manchester, England, Edmund in 1855 and Alice in 1863. They were married at All Souls Church, Manchester in 1884 and went on the have seven children, including my grandfather, who was a twin.

While I don't know the year this photo was taken, I do know that Alice died in 1910, so obviously it is pre then and so sad that such a beautiful lady died so young. Edmund however lived to the ripe old age of 95, joining Alice in their grave together, again in Manchester, England, in 1950.

I love this photo. A cousin, who I only discovered in very recent years (his grandfather and mine were both children of Edmund and Alice) sent me this photo, not knowing who they were and I was able to identify Alice from a large photo I have of her, and Edmund from the numerous photos I have of him throughout the course of his long life. I then sent this photo to a first cousin of my father's, who is now 87 years young, and the last time I spoke with him a few months ago he told me that he admires this photo all the time. He calls Alice his "Mona Lisa", and I can see why....that hint of a smile on her lips has had me fascinated since I was a child!

My "today" portrait was taken this morning, and features my sixteen year old son Adam, a minute before he walked out the door to catch the school bus. The look on his face really tells the story of his question, "Why are you taking my photo now?!" Little does he know that he is my alternate choice for Mono Monday! I have called his photo "Portrait of a Teenager".

Thank you Mr H, for hosting the Mono Monday challenge again. :)