Photographs provide a more concrete way of recording recollections than sketching portraits in sand or dictating memoirs to an empty jam jar. Preserve precious memories with today's Groupon: for $20, you get an old-time-themed photo shoot for two people, including costumes and two 5"x7" prints, at Professor Bellows Specialty Photography, located on the third floor of the Mall of America in Bloomington (a $46 value).

Recent winner of five blue ribbons and the Best in Show award from Antique and Amusement Photographers International, Professor Bellows outfits its subjects in Victorian, vaudevillian, and arch-villain costumes and photographs them on authentic-looking sets. Photogenic time travelers of all ages can choose from seven distinctive, old-time scenarios. Aspiring Al Capones abound in the 1920s gangster theme, feather-clad can-can dancers pair up with cowboys in the Western scene, and the Civil War set inspires impassioned recitations of the Gettysburg Address. Rekindle romance with the elegant wedding backdrop, or don pirate gear for high-seas adventure that doesn’t require amputation of a limb.

After the 20- to 30-minute shoot, participants peruse their portfolios and select two images, with 5”x7” prints available in minutes. Models can elect for their images to be eternalized in full color, faded color, sepia, or black and white.