I recently upgraded my home management team from Alexa to Google. While I made the move because I prefer Google’s search engine and answers, I got the added benefit of auto streaming my Google Photos to the device. I often find myself distracted by these frozen moments that pop up on screen and instantly transport me back to another time and place. While not great for my ADHD, it’s always great for my mood!
I’ve been freezing memories for as long as I can remember, long before I even knew that was what I was doing. I don’t remember how old I was when I got my first camera. As a Gen X-er, I wasn’t raised with a camera phone in my hand. My earliest camera was a 110 point and shoot that needed the right kind of film and needed to be developed and printed at a store. But I loved it! And it’s a good thing I did. As the oldest of three girls, most of the photos taken of my youngest sister were taken by me. I often had family complaining that I always had a camera shoved in everyone’s face, but later in life even those who complained now seem happy to have those memories to revisit in photos.
Initially my picture taking was just that. Taking pictures of family and friends during special moments but also on “any old days”. Our brains often recall special events, but its the day to day moments we need more help remembering. Yes, we all want a picture (or video) of our baby’s first everything, but what about pictures during a night time routine to remind you later of how much you enjoyed those little moments too. It was after the birth of my own daughter that I started thinking of taking pictures as more like freezing moments in time, or freezing memories. I was so focused on how fast she was growing, I wanted to freeze as many moments as I could!
Throughout my life, I have always loved being outside in nature. We used to camp as a family in tents in local state parks. I’ve also always loved the ocean, our family had cottage on a bay where we made a lot of very special memories. But my first trip to a National Park was Yosemite National Park in 2011. I had driven through the Smokey Mountains on a road trip, but Yosemite was the first one I had ever actually explored and hiked. I was instantly in love. In my opinion, these places showcase the tremendous beauty of nature created by nature that can’t be matched by anything created by man. I was instantly in awe. In these big open spaces flaunting the power of nature I feel free, I feel alive, and more importantly I understand the minuteness of my problems and stresses, which helps put everything into perspective. While I would love to bottle this feeling, or better yet, just live permanently in this beauty and power, these moments of pure awe are perfect for freezing because the photos bring back those same feelings the scene instilled at first sight.
When my daughter was born and I became addicted to freezing memories, I purchased a Nicon DSLR camera, but it was difficult to use and I was busy parenting, so I never learned how to use it beyond auto mode. In 2013, we lost my Dad in a motorcycle accident, our lives were forever changed in an instant. Tragedy has a way of kicking you in the butt and you realize that someday may never come, today is all that’s promised. Soon after, I purchased another DSLR camera (my daughter was now 12) and started taking classes to learn how to use it. Through these classes I discovered the art of landscape photography and that there were people who only photographed these places that brought me so much peace and happiness. I realized this was the perfect way to pull all my interests together…Traveling to new places, experiencing the amazing beauty in the world, and freezing these moments to be “revisited” time and time again. I’ve since visited and photographed many more state and national parks, with many more on my bucket list.
As I’ve mentioned, I recently have felt a bit disengaged from my life. As though I had planned important milestones and pathways and then set my life on autopilot. I was still traveling and enjoying amazing moments, and I was happy…but life is much more than big moments! It’s all of those tiny little moments that add up to a lifetime, the “any old days”. What was I doing to maximize my enjoyment of those moments? I decided to use my photography to ensure I had a plan to do just that. Get out and make those any old days a memory I want to freeze and come back to someday. And share them, through this blog with family and friends and anyone else who wants to join us, and maybe spread a little of that so others are making their any old days into memories to be frozen as well.
It’s amazing to sit back and reflect on how much a simple hobby has brought to my life. What are some of the hobby’s you’ve been thinking about learning SOME DAY? Do you think they might be as life changing for you as this has been for me? Please consider sharing in the comments below, would love to continue the conversation with you.
Seas The Day Blog 