Get In That Photo

Are you an avid picture taker?  Do you actively jump into a shot or do you shy away from the camera most days?

I was going through old photos today – of my grandparents and of their farm where I spent countless summers as a kid along the Miramichi River.  Sadly,  I realized that I don’t have many photos of them. 

It was before the day of digital – when you filled up a roll of 12 or 24 film exposures with captured moments and sent them away for developing.  Camera films weren’t cheap to develop and when you got the exposed prints back a week later via Canada Post, there were always those few that didn’t turn out.  And not only was film expensive to develop, but costly enough to buy.

Today, we’re in the age of digital where we are permanently strapped to devices with picture taking capabilities pretty much 24-7. 

Joe and I take tons and I do mean TONS of photos.  Sometimes folks don’t want to be in them on a given day and I get that.  At the same time though, it saddens me as I’ve come to realize that as life happens, getting in those photos is of even greater importance down the road.

When looking through my photos now, with both of my grandparents gone, along with their homestead, I wish that the opportunities had been more plentiful then.  And I wish that I had had the foresight then to know that one day, they would be gone, leaving me with only fading memories and those photos to hold on to.

The Importance Of It All…

I want my children and grandchildren to remember me well when I’m gone.  I want them to look at photos and joyfully remember moments of our time together.

When they’re missing me, I want them to be able to look at those photos as they try to recall some semblance of me, as they knew and loved me. 

I want that those photos bring them great comfort in their moments of profound loss and sadness and where I can, in some small tangible way, be with them still, everyday.

Photos will never replace us, but as the memory naturally fades as we grow older, and we forget the details of moments and times, bit-by-bit, it’s those photos that will remind us again of those details. 

I see my mom, now in Dementia, and how her photos are all that keep her mindful and connected on most days – even those of herself as she struggles to recollect her youthfulness then and another time in her life.

I, for one, will be needing them – those of whom I’ve loved and who were so meaningful in my life. I can never have enough of the memory of them.

Camera Shy…

I’ve always been on the side of camera-shy. But I made a vow to myself a few years ago, that I will not sit out an opportunity to be in a photo for my children or my husband any longer.  They probably both saw me on those days that the photo would have been taken anyway – in my extra weight or with an extra line on my face or in my messy hair and without makeup.  But it won’t be my flaws that they will be needing or even notice.  They will be needing to remember me as I was.

I’ve come to realize that it’s not about me, but them.

This Is Your Life…

I once read that everyone has the right to have their life documented and should.  Whether it be by written word, film, art, music or photos and I’ve since come to believe that – because every single life lived, matters. 

I was here once.  This was my one life. These were the people I loved.  This is where I lived and loved and was loved immensely. 

These are the small legacies I will leave to my loved ones, bad hair or none.  Perhaps not meaningful to anyone else but to them.

I will always get in those photos.  I will take many of others.  I will capture those moments.

It may not be about us now. 

But one day, for them, it will be all about us.