HINA DAVID-TAHIRI PHOTOGRAPHY: In My House There's A Picture On The Wall

I have always had a love for Family Portraitures. As I was growing up my Grandmother Mama Hina Kauta Tauariki Marsters would always call the local Photographer and make a sitting appointment to have our photos taken. During most holidays Dad would drive us down to Tokoroa from Auckland (New Zealand) to spend quality time with Mama. She would take my younger sister and I clothes shopping, mainly for dresses, especially for our family photo. I loved getting dolled up and smiling for the camera.

After getting copies of our photos, Mama would always post a copy for us to display on our wall. I always felt at home while at Mama's because I would see the exact photos in our house on her wall. We called her wall "The wall of Love". My father would do exactly the same up in Auckland, having our family portrait taken with all six of us children alongside our parents and sending a copy to Mama.

My husband and I have carried on that tradition within our own home. It is vital to place photos of your immediate family in your home. It displays the love within the home and most importantly, within the family. It creates good and lasting memories, taking you back in time to a joyous and memorable past. That was my Mama's recipe to a happy family and I'm glad she passed it onto me, because I honestly don't think I could live without it. At times, it has been my life line. No married couple is perfect and believe me, we have surely been tested along our journey.

When we moved country, I missed my family so much especially my parents. We moved with the essentials to start us up. In the first year, I pleaded with my husband three times to relocate back home. Our daughter and I visited home during our second year and that's when my mother suggested that I take some of our family portrait photos back with us and so I did. It helped a great deal. Our next visit home, my mother gave me their photo albums to bring back with me. She said, "Darling take Dad and I's photo albums in hopes that it will help you settle into your new life. Your home is where your husband and daughter are". She was always a supportive mother to all of us, her children.

By the third year, I was settled. Seeing photos on my wall of my parents, my siblings and my own little family, completed me. My home was finally HAPPY! It is truly amazing how a family portrait affects you in life. Everyday I wake up seeing the smiling faces of my family and pause to think - Damn we're a good looking Family! ha ha ha!

HAPPY LIVING EVERYONE!