Photography, Memories and Time

Captured with a GX85 f8 @ 1/250 ISO 200 with virtually no manipulation except a tweak in the exposure.

It's a typical Sunday morning. I'm working on this post, Sheila's still asleep and Molly is stretched out at my feet. The house is quiet except for the rolling thunder of a storm coming in. It was 6:40 am, and the sun was coming up. I don't usually grab a camera first thing, but the shot above is facing southwest, and the color was amazing, washing the entire neighborhood in the epitome of "sweet-light."  

I started this Sunday Morning Reflections series because it's one of my favorite times of the week. Sunday mornings are always quiet, and it's developed into a time to reflect on the past week. Mostly I do an inventory of the week's memories. Just a few minutes ago I closed my eyes and thought about the last few days.
​

• Shauna Gartz shared a Facebook post about a dream she had about Bill Hurter, past Editor-in-Chief of Rangefinder Magazine who passed away a couple of years ago. We all worked together, and her post brought out one memory after another as old friends responded with their thoughts.
• Earlier in the week, I tracked down Dick Roesler, an old friend from my Polaroid days. I have no idea why he was on my mind or Polaroid going back thirty years ago, but the conversation brought back a long series of smiles about funny moments from our past.
• I recorded a new episode of "Why?" on Friday with Andy Marcus, which will air tomorrow. Andy and I go back to my Hasselblad days, and the podcast got me thinking about everything from Dean Collins to film.
• Last but not least, I had a problem with our wifi and while on the phone with Tech Support at Frontier Communications there was a lot of waiting for the system to reboot. The Tech Rep was based in Rochester, and we started talking about Kodak. My relationship with them began when they were a powerhouse in the late 80's. In fact, if not for Kodak I never would have met some of my best industry friends.

​There's a quote I've shared before by Alfred Lord Tennyson, I am a part of all that I have met.  Well, the memories of this week clearly support that. Everybody we meet becomes a part of us and in turn, create the memories we learn from and cherish the most.

And I guess this brings me to my point this morning - take the time to appreciate your journey and your memories. Check your inventory regularly - don't let special moments slip by as time served, but learn to savor everything and everyone who comes into your life. 

As usual, I went searching for an appropriate quote and *poof* I was drawn to it immediately:

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, kiss or dream?
Because the most beautiful things in life aren't seen, but felt from the heart!
Author Unknown

Trust me for a second. Find a comfortable chair and close your eyes and think about the highlights of this past week. No matter how much intermittent stress there might have been, there were moments of brilliance where your soul had a chance just to soar.

We're an industry founded on helping people capture memories they can see and hold on to. However, like the quote I found, your power as an artist isn't really in your photographs. It's in those beautiful closed-eyes moments that tug at people's heartstrings, thanks to your skill set with a camera in your hands.

Wishing everybody an amazing Sunday with memory-making moments that make your heart skip a beat. Go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs with the people most special to you, and take the time to appreciate the face in the mirror! Everything you do today is a foundation for something tomorrow.

Happy Sunday everybody!