Photography is our ultimate, personal time machine. Use it often. Use it wisely.
Contax G2. 21mm Lens.
Leica M7. 50mm lens.
Hasselblad 500 series. 80mm lens.
Life flies past faster than you can imagine. One minute you're changing diapers and then next minute you look up and that same person is asking you for the car keys. And in the end you have the experiences and the souvenirs. And the souvenirs are mostly the photographs you were prescient enough to take. And believe me, which camera you use doesn't matter in the least...
So true Kirk, where does time go? Sometimes it's quite a shock when someone tells you how much time has past by after a certain event in time. I was told a few days ago it was 11 years since my wife's late uncle had passed away and almost 10 years since her father had died. Seems like only yesterday and both passed away during a phase when I'd fallen out of love with photography so sadly very few images had I captured of them. Regrets? You bet!
My wife and I took her brother & wife out on Friday. He hasn't got to long to live as he has terminal cancer poor bloke and with the above in mind I just wanted to get some shots of him and his wife but didn't want to impose too much by sticking a camera in their face. I took along a little Ricoh GRD III and came away with some nice captures of all 4 of us enjoying a simple and happy afternoon together. As you say the camera did and does not matter, it's the memories taken that count every time.
This is so true, and something that a lot of gearheads seem to forget. 20 years from now, when you look at that pic of your kid it really doesn't matter what camera you used, and if you are a "pro", then your clients don't give a hoot either.
I covered this topic a little on my blog some time ago, I hope it's ok to share the link here: http://thephotophile.blogspot.se/2010/11/new-camera-technology-who-cares.html
Even a phone? One of my favourite pictures of my step-daughter was taken with my iPhone last year - good memories...
Having said all that, family are always asking 'you are taking your camera, aren't you?'...there's often an element of 'it's the camera that makes the pictures in the eyes of some audiences...
At 15 my daughter is well sick of me photographing her, but I still sneak them in despite the protests. Figure it's a parental right, and I know she'll like looking at them later in life. I have very few photos of myself from age 14-21 since one of my main goals at the time was to be with my friends, not my parents. Not until I met my wife at 22 did a few photos here and there start appearing again.
Well said. After days drooling over the Oly OMD, I took my kids to the park and took some photos of them playing football (soccer for those across the atlantic) with the camera I own, a GF2. It was great, I'm going to print them out, stick them in an album and love looking at the joy on the kids faces for years. Would it have been better with the OMD? Doubt it...
Well said. After days drooling over the Oly OMD, I took my kids to the park and took some photos of them playing football (soccer for those across the atlantic) with the camera I own, a GF2. It was great, I'm going to print them out, stick them in an album and love looking at the joy on the kids faces for years. Would it have been better with the OMD? Doubt it...
The important thing is not the camera you have, but that it is a pretty good camera (I see no Instamatic shots here), and that you edit, print, and mount/frame the results. Kid pics that don't end up in albums or frames are lost.
Yeah, wait until that kid who couldn't put his socks on without help is twenty-something, and you overhear him talking to work on the phone and he sounds like an adult.
11 comments:
So true Kirk, where does time go? Sometimes it's quite a shock when someone tells you how much time has past by after a certain event in time. I was told a few days ago it was 11 years since my wife's late uncle had passed away and almost 10 years since her father had died. Seems like only yesterday and both passed away during a phase when I'd fallen out of love with photography so sadly very few images had I captured of them. Regrets? You bet!
My wife and I took her brother & wife out on Friday. He hasn't got to long to live as he has terminal cancer poor bloke and with the above in mind I just wanted to get some shots of him and his wife but didn't want to impose too much by sticking a camera in their face. I took along a little Ricoh GRD III and came away with some nice captures of all 4 of us enjoying a simple and happy afternoon together. As you say the camera did and does not matter, it's the memories taken that count every time.
Hi Kirk!
This is so true, and something that a lot of gearheads seem to forget. 20 years from now, when you look at that pic of your kid it really doesn't matter what camera you used, and if you are a "pro", then your clients don't give a hoot either.
I covered this topic a little on my blog some time ago, I hope it's ok to share the link here: http://thephotophile.blogspot.se/2010/11/new-camera-technology-who-cares.html
Have a great day and keep shooting!
Lanthus
Even a phone? One of my favourite pictures of my step-daughter was taken with my iPhone last year - good memories...
Having said all that, family are always asking 'you are taking your camera, aren't you?'...there's often an element of 'it's the camera that makes the pictures in the eyes of some audiences...
Hi Kirk. I've been following your blog for months and find it to be a great inspiration. As a soon to be dad I will take this advice to heart.
At 15 my daughter is well sick of me photographing her, but I still sneak them in despite the protests. Figure it's a parental right, and I know she'll like looking at them later in life. I have very few photos of myself from age 14-21 since one of my main goals at the time was to be with my friends, not my parents. Not until I met my wife at 22 did a few photos here and there start appearing again.
Well said. After days drooling over the Oly OMD, I took my kids to the park and took some photos of them playing football (soccer for those across the atlantic) with the camera I own, a GF2. It was great, I'm going to print them out, stick them in an album and love looking at the joy on the kids faces for years. Would it have been better with the OMD? Doubt it...
Well said. After days drooling over the Oly OMD, I took my kids to the park and took some photos of them playing football (soccer for those across the atlantic) with the camera I own, a GF2. It was great, I'm going to print them out, stick them in an album and love looking at the joy on the kids faces for years. Would it have been better with the OMD? Doubt it...
100%,but is a contax a leica and a hasselblad.
I don't understand what you are saying. Can you flesh out your comment a bit? A
The important thing is not the camera you have, but that it is a pretty good camera (I see no Instamatic shots here), and that you edit, print, and mount/frame the results. Kid pics that don't end up in albums or frames are lost.
Yeah, wait until that kid who couldn't put his socks on without help is twenty-something, and you overhear him talking to work on the phone and he sounds like an adult.
Requires a major self-adjustment.
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