![Image](https://dev.permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-2-scaled-e1656451479734.jpg)
Which comes first, the photo or the memory? It’s a bit like the chicken and the egg thing.
In my case, it was a strong memory of one particular photograph that came first.
In my usual storytelling, story sharing way, while preparing a storyboard, a series of photographs arranged digitally to tell a story with Ponga.com, it played on me that I was missing that one very important specific photograph. A photograph that was vivid in my memory, in living colour.
![](https://permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-1-scaled-e1656451362804-576x1024.jpg)
The missing photograph was taken in the summer of 1966, a very long time ago and I have zero memory of the day it was taken, but the photograph left a lasting memory.
In my desire to inspire my siblings to come down memory lane with me, back to 1966, and fill in some holes in my memory, I needed that photograph.
So, I used my Ponga powers and sent out a call to my sisters. One of them had to have it. From an already shared photograph, I simply asked the question. Asking a question from within Ponga.com
![](https://permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-2-scaled-e1656451479734-1024x1024.jpg)
And within literally minutes, thanks to time zone differences, I had my missing photograph.
![](https://permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-3-1024x1024.jpg)
Now the storyboard was complete and the story gathering began.
![](https://permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-4-scaled-e1656452343687-576x1024.jpg)
Permanent.org, or more to the point, the power of Permanent.org lies with much more than just sharing a link to a photograph. The power is in the linking directly to a downloadable copy that can be included in my digital storyboard.
A click here and a download there, I’m able to begin gathering the memories, filling the story, and remembering the day.
![](https://permanent.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Article-4-Story-gathering-image-5-1024x1024.jpg)
Creating pathways to family memories and tying it all together is a blast. The simplicity of connecting Permanent.org, Ponga.com and a little Canva design magic, this is a storyteller’s, a story sharer’s, playground.
Whether it’s single photographs, documents and diaries, or a family tree filled with everything that you could imagine, this process is a winner for memory gathering and storytelling.