Perspective

 

Don’t you love what innovation has done to the way we capture and preserve our memories today?  With just a click of a cell phone camera or the shutter on a digital camera, you can instantly freeze time.  As I was looking through some of my digital photos recently, I was struck by how easily they take me right back to the moment captured and the details I would otherwise have forgotten.  Often, the images that move me the most are those that capture the quiet details of everyday life from an up close and candid perspective—like my son’s boots splashing big in a puddle on a day we went exploring after a long rain.  Isn’t it amazing how you can feel his joy without even seeing his face?  

I took the picture below while roller skating behind my daughter a few weeks ago.  The image is blurry and out of focus, but I love how this picture captures her speeding around the skating rink.  It takes me right back to that moment. 

One thing these pictures all have in common is that they were taken as I'm following behind or quietly looking on as my children interact and play.  From this perspective, I'm able to capture the true essence of a moment and of who they are right now.  If I had hurried up ahead to get the perfect shot, they probably would have stopped to smile or pose and the emotion and feel of the moment would be lost. I love including these types of images in my Project Life albums and I sometimes even frame them for display.  It's not about capturing the perfect image, but about capturing real life as it happens.  I love the perspective this kind of photography brings to memory keeping.