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My Empey Grandparent's Wedding

In 1930, my grandparents married at St Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown, situated in rural Victoria. The time period coincided with the Great Depression. And yet, their marriage followed a traditional culture.

Recently, my parents gave me a wedding image of my grandparents, Percy Empey and Ivy Bant. His brother, Ralph, and her sister, Kate, accompanied them. Both Percy and Ralph were state school teachers and played football, cricket, and, in their later years, golf. Ivy and Kate's family were dairy farmers, and some descendants still are dairy farmers. During my childhood years, my family and I spent many a family vacation at my ancestors' farms.

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Wedding of Percy Empey and Ivy Bant. 

Embedded into the larger image is the smaller original Kodak print in sepia toning. The large image has been cropped and enhanced again in a sepia tone. Looking at the smaller image, the viewer's eye is drawn to the whites in the wedding dress. However, the foreground is overexposed, which causes an unnecessary distraction. The overexposed part has been cropped out in the larger image. Therefore, the focus of the image is on the relationship between the bride and groom.

The bridal party is positioned on the right-hand side of the image. On the other side, strong, sharp, vertical, and horizontal lines are found.

The light and shadow of the steps form a shape. A three-dimensional space is created, which is also accentuated by the bridal party walking down the steps.

The components of the image give a consistent sense of the realistic size of the wedding party within the frame. The emphasis is on the grandness of the church towering over them.

There is a range of tones from black to white, which is noticeable by the contrast between the white dresses and the black suits.

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A moment in time was captured. At that moment, they left the church.

All eyes looked downwards as they navigated the steps.

The ladies held their hands through the gentlemen's arms.

My grandfather led.

One by one, the steps were navigated downwards.

It seems that he watched over my grandmother as they took their first steps into their married life together.

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In May 2018, I stopped in Camperdown on my way to Warrnambool and took some modern images of the church.

Steps at St Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown.

The Entrance.

St Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown.
Notes
Anon., 'Wedding of Percy Empey and Ivy Bant', 1930, personal collection. 
Jennifer Empey, 'St Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown, 2018, personal collection.
Jennifer Empey, 'Steps at St Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown', 2018, personal collection.
Jennifer Empey, 'The Entrance', 2018, personal collection. 

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