There are no photos in this post; this post may be the only one on this blog with this many words and without any photos. It feels strangely appropriate that the first in a series on better photos wouldn’t have a single one.
I was living in Florence, Italy in 1998, attending l’universita’. I spent my carefree weekends with a Eurorail pass, a passport, and a backpack. I saw 13 countries that year. I photographed the snow-capped Alps, the clock and insanely crowded Old Jewish Cemetary in Prague, the beautiful volcanic beaches in Greece, the River Danube separating Buda from Pest with the glorious Parliament building in Hungary. I saw Anne Frank’s hide-away home in Amsterdam, the canals in Copenhagen, tulips in the Netherlands, the lights over Paris taking off from Charles de Gaulle. I saw where Mozart learned to love music in Vienna, and fairy tale castles in Germany.
I snuck a photo of much-too-young Polish soldiers who boarded the train with semi-automatic weapons and sashes of ammunition – their teenage bodies wearing grown-up faces. My camera captured old men on trains, gypsy camps outside of Florence, glass blowers in Venice, men playing bocce ball, kids playing soccer. I fell in love with Il Duomo, Michaelangelo’s Davide, frescoes in Rome, pizza in Naples, cannolis in Sicily, art in Milano – all behind the lens of my camera. I attended Stations of the Cross at the Roman Coliseum with Pope John Paul II and captured the sea of faces who collectively gasped as His Holiness mistepped and nearly fell. I captured piazzas, cafes, lines of laundry, plates of gnocchi, statues, churches… all the faces and places I loved there.
It was my year’s life story.
And when I came back to the States to develop a pillow case full of film…
it was all. gray.
The heightened security due to bombings of US Embassies abroad meant the rays used to scan my baggage deleted every single image from the film. I called Kodak and the lady on the phone cried with me as I told my story.
It was then I realized how powerful images can be and how much they tell our stories. My memories from that year are thinning, and it still makes me incredibly sad that I have nothing tangibile to remind me of the faces and places that I loved that year.
But it lit a fire. And out of the loss emerged a girl who loves photos…. who understands the magic they hold, the stories they tell, and the precious, irretrievable time they freeze.
I treasure my photos. My boys sit captivated in front of their scrapbooks. My husband and I have taken photography classes, attended workshops, watched countless hours of training and tutorials via DVD and online. We poured ourselves in learning the technical so we could make the meaningful images we were capturing all along even better.
The lesson I hope you pull from today – no matter how good of a photographer you are, no matter how new you are, what you paid for your camera, how long you’ve owned it, what lens is on it…
What matters most is that you are freezing time and capturing memories. They will be treasured. Because life is constantly in motion. And that little boy smashing trucks and playing legos will soon be borrowing car keys, and those once-in-a-lifetime trips can not be retaken. Your princess will soon wear a prom dress instead of a Disney costume, and time goes on…
So, today’s lesson? Day 1 to a better photo – take the photo. Always, always take the photo. You will never get a second chance at that moment. It’s a simple one, clearly. But how many times have you meant to bring the camera but didn’t?
Today’s blog sharing opportunity in comments:
When did you realize how much you loved photos? What motivates you to love your images?
Please visit my girls who are sharing this 31 Days journey with us:
31 Days of Grace :: Chatting at the Sky
31 Days to an Inspired Table ::Â My First Kitchen
31 Days to a Less Messy Nest ::Â Nesting Place
31 Days of Living Simply ::Â Remodeling This Life
31 Days of Autumn Bliss ::Â The Inspired Room
31 Days to More. . .With Less ::Â Beauty and Bedlam
31 Days to a Better Photo ::Â My 3 Boybarians
31 Days to Stress Free Entertaining ::Â Reluctant Entertainer
Thank you so much for this series!!! Even though I’m WWAAAYYY late reading this, I can’t wait to start my journey!! Since today is the 1st of March I decided that I will read one of these each day of the month & do my own little project!!
In response to your question about when I first realized that I loved photos-
I first realized my love for photography when I started to nanny my cousin when he just 2 months old. I loved taking pictures of what we did through out the day and would show them to his mom when she came to pick him up at the end of the day. He’s now 4 & has a 2 year old brother! When I look back at all the photos I took of them, I’m speechless & start crying because I know that that day will never happen again & I’m so happy I caught that smile/laugh/cry/etc. on camera. I’m even more happy that I learned this at the age of 18 so when I have kids of my own I will know the importance of capturing those moments!!!
I bought my first DSLR about 6 months ago & am SLOWLY learning how to shoot in manual mode. I’m hoping this will help it to go SO much more faster!! Thanks again for this series!! I am recommending it to all my newbie photographer friends!!! Hahaha
I am so pleased to have found this! I just got my first “big girl camera” that I have zero clue what to do other than set it on Auto & push a button. A big change from primarily using my iPhone!
I can only explain my love for pictures/photography by how pictures make me feel. There’s a whole range of emotion and feelings I experience when I take a good picture or when I see a good one. Breathless, happy, sad, joyful, peaceful, hungry, filled with wonder … I could go on.
I’ve had my SLR camera since 2006 and only started using it last year. And to say “using it” is putting things mildly. I still really only use it like a point and shoot. So I’m happy that I found this series today. Today’s my first day of 31 and I’m excited at what I’ll uncover in myself and through my lens.
Thank you for this starting point.
I realized my love for photography when I was young around seven, eight. My dad had this old canon camera it was really heavy, I used to love looking through the eye piece and imagine taking pictures, winding it back and pressing the shutter release, even if it never had a film in it, it framed my imagination….
I did not get my real first camera until I was fifteen I had to pay it off with payments and I had to work hard just to be able to buy films and have them processed, so when I went to university I joined the photography club and those were some off the best days I ever had, endless amounts of film to be used on the cost of the school and I was trained to develop my own negatives and from negatives to paper so many fun hours spent in that darkroom.. It was also where I fell in love for the first time
So many people have said to me “you don’t have to work so hard on your photos” but to me they are art, they are how I saw the moment and if I can add a little sugar and spice to that moment even better, thats why I love photos they bring me joy and they bring joy to the people I photograph……
Found it!
My heart breaks for you and a year’s worth of photos – gone in an instant. I can’t even imagine how devastating that must have been.
Cheers!
I’m happened upon your blog tonight when I came across one of your posts on Pinterest. I bought my first dslr last summer. A Cannon. Took a basic photography class and I’m slowly but surely figuring it all out. I think I’m going to LOVE your blog. Starting with your 31 days series.
Your 1st page had me in tears. If your pictures are as powerful as your words, you’re a great photographer! My husband and I have thousands of pictures of our little girls. You’re absolutely right about how quickly they grow up. Thanks for your blog.
I know I’m late with this but I want to comment anyway: Hope you don’t mind. When did I realize how much I loved photos? It was the day my father said “take pictures” to me. He was dying and this is one of the last thing he said to me ~ “take pictures”. I can still hear him. I never realized how much of a love for photos I had until that day. I never realized I was the one with the camera in my hand at all times. I just loved it. He knew and he wanted me to never forget. When my sisters and I put together the photos of my father’s life for his funeral I realized I was the one that took most of the pictures and sadly I was not in any of the photos that were taken of my father. It’s been two years now since his death and this still makes me cry. I miss him so much. ~ so yes! your right! take the photos and I have to add get in it once in awhile.