Bringing Something Into Focus... maybe...

I like to take pictures. Much to the chagrin of one of my daughters... I REALLY like to take pictures. I guess it started in high school when I was asked to be the photographer for our school yearbook. No training. No direction as to what to capture. I was to take pictures. Lots of pictures. And submit them for consideration for use in the yearbook.

I got a Yashica camera that used 35mm film. It looked something like this one. It used little spools of film that had to be taken to the lab to be developed... It was a different day in 1976. But I did what I was asked to do. I took a LOT of pictures. In black and white (because yearbooks were not in color in those days.) And many of those images were in the River Oaks Academy yearbook. So... I've never thought about it... but I guess that means I am a "published" photographer. Cool!

So that was in high school. I never stopped taking pictures. Photography became an especially big deal to me when Jaimee, our oldest daughter, was born. I wanted to capture every meaningful moment in her life - and I set out to do so.

I heard over and over of parents who took pictures of their firstborn, but possessed few images of the children who followed. Not this guy! I was determined to keep snapping those pictures - and I did. I guess it helped that daughter number two - Lindsey - didn't mind the camera nearly as much as her big sis. In fact, she has always been quick to flash a smile whenever she sees the camera pointed her way. (This has worked well for her in her years as an entertainer at that "major theme park" in Orlando.)

And then came the digital age. We were early adopters of digital photography technology. I still remember making two landmark decisions: first, to invest in the camera, AND to order and pay via the internet - something else new for us. Annette and I made the decision together, held our breath as we placed the order, and hoped a camera would arrive in the mail. It did - and our experiences with the 2.1 megapixel Olympus Camedia began. I think I still have it somewhere. How times have changed!

Let me quickly say that I am not a "photographer". I take pictures. But I've still never been trained to make photography an art form. I just take pictures in order to document meaningful life experience, and to preserve memories. German fashion designer, artist, and photographer Karl Lagerfeld said, "What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce." I like that! French photographer Marc Riboud is quoted as having said "Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second." I like that, too. I want to capture moments... savor life... and then use the images to re-live those impossible-to-reproduce experiences.... moments like these:

These images and thousands more are treasures - treasures to be preserved.  This year, at Christmas, I decided to pass on to our girls copies of all of the digital images collected over many years. They are in possession now of their very own copies of almost 26,000 images. "This is our life," Lindsey said. And I knew she "got it." The birth of our first child... joy on Jaimee's face as we welcomed a little sister into our family... a church staff retreat with families at a cabin in the woods... sisters experiencing a safari in Africa... These are moments I don't ever want to forget. Memories flood my mind immediately when I see the pictures. And I smile all over again.

All of this rambling was prompted by an article from Psychology Today written by Ira Hyman. My attention was captured by the subtitle of the article - "Make memories, not photographs" - and by the opening statements of the article. "Stop taking pictures," the article begins. "Please." The writer goes on to offer some findings by a researched named Linda Henkel, who has investigated the impact of taking pictures on memory. Among other conclusions, Henkel suggests "taking pictures seems to put our cognitive effort into the photograph and not our personal memory." Henkel, daughter of a photographer and researcher of human memory at Fairfield University in Connecticut, goes on to write, "As soon as you hit 'click' on that camera, it's as if you've outsourced your memory."

Maryanne Garry, a psychology professor at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, states, "I think that the problem is that people are giving away being in the moment." That's interesting.

Back to Henkel... She doesn't want people to stop taking photos. "They're still valuable tools that can provide "rich retrieval clues" later on." Instead, according to NPR, who also reported on Henkel's research, she would "like us to be more mindful when taking pictures in the first place."

Ira Hyman acknowledges in the Psychology Today article, "In families, reviewing pictures can serve as a scaffold that enables conversations about the past with children. In this way, pictures can strengthen both memory and relationships. But this only works if you review the pictures."

I like these last ideas. I want to be sure, as I continue to snap away, that I am always "more mindful when taking pictures in the first place." Perhaps I will be sure that I drink in the moment more purposefully before I reach for the camera. I will seek to insure the original image is fully exposed in the here-and-now, forever etched in my memory. But I shall still capture on digital media. And I will continue to use pictures to prompt conversations about the past with family and friends. Yes, I will!

Speaking of digital media, it's not just photographs anymore. My latest fascination is with digital video. In particular, I enjoy documenting motorcycle rides using video. Every time I watch, it's like riding the route all over again... as though I can see the sights, smell the aroma of the great outdoors, feel the wind in my face... Here is the latest example of experiences re-lived... two days of a 19-day adventure that allowed me to experience again places included Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Grand Tetons National Park, Yellowstone, Shoshone National Forest, and Cody, Wyoming.

So what will I conclude from all of this?

1. I will continue to treasure all of those images that are a treasure to me.
2. I will continue to document life experiences using digital media.
3. I will discipline myself to drink in moments with my EYES before I reach for the camera.
4. I will review the images and video regularly, living the experiences again and again.
5. i will use pictures and video to celebrate life experiences with family and friends.

And that's enough for now.

I'm going to look at old pictures. I am going to remember.

And I'm sure I'll smile.