From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
photos and life/ collages of life
How many times have you watched a group of Japanese tourists and marvelled at the number of cameras they carry and how many photos they take - of everything? And then joked about it. How many times have you groaned at a friend who always brings a camera along?
I started thinking about cameras and photographs during these holidays because my Christmas was one of the best I've ever had. My whole family was together for the first time in ten years - with all their varied assortment of children. Consequently I went mad with my camera. In fact everyone went mad with their cameras! As a result we have a fabulous array of memories in action!
Suddenly, everyone was gone. Back to various countries and states - but they left the photos with me. The place was very quiet and to ease the stab of sadness I felt, I spent ages looking through the photos. I decided to surprise each member of my family with a 'Christmas 1996 memory book'. As I write I am in the process of preparing five separate books (one for each family) documenting the events of our time together and illustrating the saga with wonderfully funny or just plain heart melting shots of those moments.
Once upon a time a keen family photographer was soundly abused because they would line the troops up and then take 20 minutes to focus the camera which needed a crane to support the long and very expensive lens. Meanwhile everyone's groaning and the smiles have become fixed into a hideous sneer! No wonder we were reluctant to take bulk pickies!
Thankfully, technology has created point and press (quickly) cameras that are within the income of most households - and it's very difficult to take anything out of focus. Although I still seem quite capable of taking a close up of half of someone's face! Particularly with my new 'super duper focus up close if you want' camera. I have a spectacular shot of half of my gorgeous niece's huge smile and one of her beautiful big blue eyes!
Even these less than perfect shots play a significant role in the memory book. They form a statement on the alcoholic status of the photographer!
The other great technological leap is that these point and press cameras are becoming smaller and smaller. It's easy to pop one in your pocket or handbag and carry it with you most of the time. If mobile phones can become a form of appendage then so can a camera!
Please consider (as the car manufacturer said) capturing more of your great fun or even apparently ordinary life moments on film. Life flashes by so quickly these days that half our life is forgotten.
Take your camera to dinner with friends - not just birthday parties; to the beach; on picnics; to work. Have it somewhere handy at home so when the cat or dog are in play mode you catch them; or record the night your second baby rolled over ( the first one you would have taken a photograph album's worth of photos on this night!); or capture your garden when it looks it's best. Your new car, the new dress or just a family photo of the togetherness displayed as five children sit and 'play together' , oblivious of each others presence and eyes rigidly fixed on gameboys! (I have several of those).
And once you have a collection, do something with them other than chuck them into the drawer where you have thrown all the photos of the last ten years so they now form a big, messy jumble! The task of sorting them out becomes more daunting each year.
Why not put them immediately into a collage in one of those big perspex frames and hang it on the wall? This way your memories are always there for you to smile at - rather than being shoved away into an album you pull out on twenty firsts or weddings! I have the walls of my bedroom covered with these collages that capture wonderful moments and friends forever.
Or do what my friends Gail and Simon do. They have five children (and are very tired! Just kidding.) Gail always orders double prints and has an album for each child and one for her and Simon. She puts the relevant photos of each child into their personal album and keeps a 'central register' in theirs! What a great idea. When she finishes one album she starts another. Storage is their main problem because they do carry a camera most places but what a fantastic gift for their children.
I know the pain of sorting out that drawer full of negatives and jumbled eras of photos - but it's worth it. Start with your recent holiday snaps and set aside some time to tackle the drawer. Buy your albums or frames first , have some blue tak handy to keep your memories in place on the board (or trust me, one day you will walk in and find past boyfriends and girlfriends have slid down and mingled with your dogs and children!), and a pair of scissors to cut the shots to size and you're ready.
Perhaps you could have a wall of family history - line the walls of the hall or family room with "this is our life" in pictorial form! Well, I think it's a good idea anyway!
'What about videos?' I hear you cry. Videos are great and we took plenty of those as well. But you can't walk past a video so easily and feel that surge of love or laughter as you are instantly transported back to a magic moment or to that wonderful person or time. So bring out your cameras , carry them everywhere and have fun as you create collages of your life.
