Memories from 2005? Catalina Island

I know I shared the picture above a few years back, but wandering through my archives in Shutterfly, I recently ran across a few more from that trip to Catalina Island. 

Years ago somebody said to me that diving isn't a hobby, it's a sickness. Well, my obsession with being in the water as much as possible for many years after I got certified is proof that it's true.

Two things always made a scuba trip special. First is the obvious appreciation for everything you see and feel when you're underwater. For example, floating off the side of the wall in Grand Cayman and looking down a few miles into the darkness I always felt that it was as close to what an astronaut must feel floating in outer space.

Second, diving is about friends, and I'm hanging out with two of my favorite dive buddies in this throwback post, Kayce Baker and Bob Rose. We've done dozens of trips all over the world together, and for these images and the week's trip down Memory Lane, it was just a day trip to Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles.

The water's cold, so it was my first time in a heavy wet suit, but it wasn't my first time getting lost. True to form, my sense of direction is equally bad under the water or above! Kayce said, "We'll meet you at the red ball." I dropped in and went to the red ball and sat on the bottom of the ocean for 20 minutes. They never appeared, and I never noticed there were at least three red balls. Seriously, who loses their buddies in a roped off underwater park?

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​They're all grab-shots and will never win an award for composition, but they sure do win prizes for smiles and throwbacks. Photographs bring back memories, often so vivid that you feel like they just happened yesterday.

If you haven't taken the time yet today to look through some of your older images, take the time this evening. Old photographs are a great reminder of the career path we've all chosen in imaging and the power of every picture's ability to tell a story! And, use some of those old photographs on your blog to remind your audience how quickly time flies. You're the magician who can stop time and give "Mom" the ability to hold memories of her family in her hands forever, or until it's time to do the next family portrait!