Why photography is important.

I have done a post similar to this in the past.  I feel I need to revisit this subject due to recent circumstances.  You see, we have have 2 deaths in my family in a 10 day period.  Both deaths were our grandfathers.  My birth Grandfather, and my husbands grandfather, who was more of a grandfather to me than my own birth grandparents.

I learned this lesson about 16 years ago this month.  My Godfather passed away way too soon.  At the time I was 20 years old, and photography was really just a pastime for me.  I worked in film, and my camera was very inexpensive, because we were fairly poor. But in my experimentation I bought a few rolls of black and white film.  I took a photo of my Godfather in black and white, and I still have that photo and cherish it.  My Godfather was going through a really hard time before he died.  He didn't have a lot of family around him, and there really were no recent pictures of him, with the exception of the ones I took.

Flash forward to 2010.  during this year, I was really just starting our trying to make a name for myself in photography.  I had a lot to learn, but I was eager, and curious.  I loved reading books on photography and practicing as many techniques as I could. I also found it important to photograph my loved ones.  I set up a session with my birth grandfather, my mom, myself and my daughter.  Its the closest thing to a generational photo, that I could get.  And even though I wasn't that close to my papa, I still wanted these photos for one day, when my daughter asked about him.  I also set up a session just for fun, with my mom, and her 3 daughters, and her 3 granddaughters.  I never in a million years expected her to die the following month.  I just kept thinking, if I hadn't done those 2 sessions, we would have no recent pictures of her.  She hated being photographed.  But she did these sessions for me, because she knew it was important to me.  Can I just say that I hang onto those pictures for dear life.  They mean everything to me.  

With the passing of my birth grandfather this month, It occurred to me, that out of all his many many children and grandchildren, I was the only one with decent pictures of him.  Pictures from before he was sick.  Pictures when he was still full of piss and vinegar (as my mom would say)  Granted the pictures are now 5 years old.  But as far as I know, they are the most recent photographs, that are not cell pictures of him on his death bed. 

My husbands Grandpa.  I adopted my grandparents when I first met them in 2001.  My husband very happily shares them with me, and I consider them my own.  Tragedy struck my husbands family in August, with the untimely death of Uncle David.  He lived only 4 short hours away from us, and we found out our grandparents would come to say goodbye to their son.  We havent seen them in a while, because they live in California, clear across the country.  We took the opportunity to go see them.  It was a wonderful time, through a tragic circumstance.  Grandma asked if I had my camera.  (of course i always have it)  I tried to take pictures, without being intrusive.  This was also the first time they met my son, who had just turned one.  I never imagined it would be the last time we would see him.  I mean, when your dealing with older family members, its always in  your mind, that this could be the last time you see them.  But I just never imagined so soon after our visit, his life would end.  We are so full of hurt and grief.  But once again, I realize how very very blessed I am to have taken photographs.  And though my heart breaks to look at them.  It also makes me so so happy to know, I will have them forever.  So that when I look back, I can remember every wrinkle of his face when he smiles, every tattoo that I never looked to hard at, because that would be weird.  And my son, who has not stopped talking about his gah pa since, will have pictures, when he no longer remembers.  And my wonderful daughter and husband can remember that even though my  husband had fear and respect for Grandpas authority, my daughter stood up to him at a young age of  2 and made grandpa laugh when she did it.  

So I will leave you with this thought.  TAKE PICTURES!  Get in pictures!  Let others photograph you! When you visit someplace cool with your family, take FAMILY PICTURES, not just pictures of the place your visiting.  Take pictures of every day life.  Pictures of you mom at the stove, or of your children playing with their toys.  Laughing on the porch, fishing on a dock.  Do professional pictures at least once a year.  Get those memories on film, or disk, or paper!  Do it now, don't wait.  Because their might not be a tomorrow and you WILL REGRET IT.