These are from Ali’s 31 More Things class. More context here.
So here’s my day twelve – camera.
(journaling below)
Journaling:
I’ve liked taking pictures for as long as I can remember. When I was in high school, I was always the girl with the camera. I have hundreds of photos and albums from that time. And just as many from college.
When I lived in NYC, I played with smaller, toy cameras like the Aiptek pen camera and the Casio watch camera. I credit Heather Champ with getting me back into photography because she was the one who inspired me to buy those little ones. I had a point and shoot back then, too, which is what I used during our cross country trip. It wasn’t until we moved to the West Coast that I bought my first digital SLR. Looking back at the photos, I often wish I’d bought it before we went to all those beautiful places.
With my first SLR came my photography business. I remember taking David and Jake to Torrey Pines State Reserve so I could take photos of them and start my website. I remember sitting in our house and coding the site for my business. I remember getting my first clients and then more and more until I had enough money to get a nicer camera.
I don’t do professional photography anymore, mostly because I don’t have the time but I still do have my nice SLR and I have thousands of photos from my kids’ lives, which I love. I’ve also recently bought a small Sony point-and-shoot which I carry with me no matter where I go. And I will sometimes take photos on the android, too, but the photos that come out of the SLR are always, always my favorite.
I’ve taken fewer photos this year than usual. I think it’s because it’s been an unusual year, full of chaos and change and I haven’t found my new normal yet. But even so, I have about 400 photos form this year that are in my favorites folder. About 400 more that are waiting to be processed. But, even when put together, that’s a lot lower than last year’s 1,500 and 1,900 from the year before. This means I need more pictures this year. Even our weekly family photos have declined to become more occasional.
I know people say that taking pictures means you’re not experiencing life but, for me, taking photos has always allowed me to pause a few seconds longer than I would have so I can freeze the moment and lock it into my memory so that I can replay the magical capture again and again. I am incredibly grateful for this luxury.
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