Once upon a time there was a day when we were careful about the pictures we took. It cost a small fortune to buy film and get the prints developed. Then, when we finally got them back quite some time after the initial event (depending on how diligent you were about taking in your rolls), we would find that most of those “great” shots were blurry or poorly framed or badly lit and there was nothing we could do about it. The moment was lost, there was no photoshop.
I have envelopes and envelopes of pictures that I’m disappointed with. Memories that only mean something to me because I remember what it should look like – or at least my faulty recollection of it.
On the other hand, there was also the chance that within those bad or mediocre pictures there could be a gem. So many of the shots we now look back at fondly (or with laughter) are ones we may have deleted if we had had the technology. I was not very happy with the way I looked most of the time when I was younger, but I love looking back at my old birthday party pictures and other family events as much to see how much we all have changed as to see the crazy things we used to think looked good!
I have a picture of myself on my 7th birthday. I have a Snoopy cake in front of me. I look pretty proud. It was the only year my mom made a complicated birthday cake and it was special. Plus I have crazy curly hair, which has to be a perm since my hair is bone straight, and a gorgeous flowery 70’s dress on a background of orange. Ahhh, those were the days.
On DNTO today on CBC Radio they dedicated the show to pictures.
They spoke to a man who found a picture when he and his soon to be wife were looking for interesting pictures for the wedding. They came across this picture of his fiance and her family in Disneyland. As he looked at it he realized that the man in the background with the stroller was his Dad. His family was there at the same time! What are the odds that the picture would be taken at that exact moment for them to find 15 years later.
I can just see a family taking that picture now and going “Oh, little Johnny isn’t looking at the camera. Let’s delete this one and take another one.” The kismet moment would have been lost forever!
Another story is of photographer Marc Bence hired to capture Brad and Angelina when they were in the Edmonton area to shoot The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward John Ford. Through a real stroke of luck he got a photo that ended up fetching $100,000.
Imagine making that kind of money for a picture of a couple going to Safeway! Being in the right place at the right time is what photography is all about. All great photographers say that so much of their job is luck. You can plan a shoot, plan every piece from wardrobe to props and lighting and it will be the impromptu surprise shot that will be the winner.
Photographer Thomas Hawk did a $2 Portrait project. He offered homeless people $2 to participate in a photo shoot then had a conversation with them and snapped their pictures. He got to hear some great stories and realized that they, like us all, just want a human connection.
Pictures can be so revealing. When we start to “fix” or change them for the better, they often lose some of their truth and poignancy. There’s a lot of truth in the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”. That one moment captured for all time can tell us so much.
We rarely really notice what is going on around us, or even inside us, so pictures help us take the time to really see those details. They are worth taking some time with, being careful with, treating like gold. They aren’t a commodity, they are gems.
Pictures are us. We deserve to be noticed, to be treasured. Treasure yourself, your family and your moments whether recorded on film, digital media or in your mind.
Hugs to you all.
Be Beautiful, Be YOU