The Importance of a Picture

Many younger readers will look at the picture above and have no clue what it is.

Back in the days before camera phones and digital photos, a person would buy a roll of film, stick it in their camera, take pictures until the film ran out and then drop it off somewhere (like a photo hut or drug store) to be developed.

Unless you have done it, you will never know the excitement of going back to pick up your photos! Opening the envelope and looking at each photo one by one. You’d never know if the pictures even turned out until you picked them up. Oh, how many times I opened up a picture envelope to find photos out of focus, people with eyes closed, or just plain embarrassing pictures!

Take Pictures. Take A Lot of Them!

This blog kind of came out of nowhere, but it was prompted by a few things. First, my friend Tina began posting a bunch of old pictures on Facebook this week. Another of our classmates passed away recently and he was in some of them. There were many faces I recognized from high school in her photos, many of those people I remain friends with today.

The other thing that prompted this blog was funerals/memorials. Recently I visited a funeral home to pay respects to my friend’s brother who had passed away just before the holidays. In the room were poster boards filled with photos of him from various stages of his life.

A radio friend from Ohio passed away just recently, as well. I was shocked and saddened to see the link to his obituary on his Facebook page. When you go to the funeral home obituary page, there is a 20 minute beautiful video montage of family photos and photos from his radio days. Those pictures told an amazing story of his love for his family, friends, and his work.

Memories!

People make fun of me for how many photos I take. Many comment on my Facebook posts with “The most photographed girl (or boy) on the internet” when referring to my kids. That’s ok. I love taking pictures for many reasons. First of all, it will help me to remember them as they were babies. In the first year of life, a baby’s features will change almost daily. Sam and I will see pictures of Ella from a year ago and say, “Look at her! She’s changed so much!”

I also try to get lots of pictures of the kids with Sam and I. I want them to look back at them and see how much we love them. I don’t ever want them not to have photos to remember their childhood.

Life changes fast. With life, comes death. I am grateful for photos of me with my grandparents, and great grandparents. I am grateful for the pictures I have with my mom. My oldest son will always remember the love my mom had for him, because of the many photos he has of him and her.

When my dad comes over, I get as many pictures as I can with him and the kids. Some of the best ones are the candid ones. When I look back at some of those candid ones of me as a baby/toddler with my grandparents, they make me smile. I always want them to have those memories.

The ONLY way to “Pause”

In my almost 52 years on this planet, I have realized that life continues day by day nonstop. There is no rewind or fast forward button. As much as we may want it, there is also no “pause” button. However, that is where the magic of pictures comes in.

Each photograph catches a little moment in time to remain forever. Baby smiles. First steps. Silly outfits. First days of school. Christmas morning excitement. Prom pictures. High school or college graduation. Marriage proposals. Wedding vows. The list of “moments” can go on and on. Pictures are important. They show our lives one image and one memory at a time.

One of the coolest projects I have every been a part of was for my friend Kortny. While in school, she was doing something for a journalism class (if memory serves me right). The assignment was to take like 500-700 pictures, and pick only 10 of then to tell a story. I was working in radio, so she came to the studio and took pictures of me prepping my show, doing my show, and working in the production room. She came to a few personal appearances and took pictures at live broadcasts. It was crazy. She just kept snapping away. I am sure I still have the ten pictures she used somewhere, and they really were amazing pictures. They told – the story of a radio DJ.

Most of the photos we take are telling the story of a vacation, or an event, or something of that nature. In the end, though, what they really are is much more. They are moments in your life captured forever. One day, you will look back over them with joy or sadness. In some cases, long after you are gone, people will look back at them and remember YOU.

Pictures are important. Take plenty of them. Post them on your Facebook. Hang them on your wall. Print them and put them in a photo album. Look at them often. Share them with your kids. You will not regret it. I promise.