Thank you Summer session

I want to take a small moment to thank my summer students for their continued support and the great interaction that you provided. These summer classes were by far my most rewarding classes yet. We had great participation in class, and we kept the attendance high in each class.

Thank you for being engaged and open minded. For allowing me to show you new things, and for absorbing the ideas that were brought to class. Take from it what you will, some of you will implement many ideas, some of you a few, some of you are already on your way, and some of you are just beginning. But you all were active, and that's what makes the experience for everyone much more rewarding. I never have anyway of knowing what you know or want to learn when you arrive, so unless you speak up, I may never cover areas you deem important, not just what I think might be important to you.

Remember, just because school is out for the summer, the shooting doesn't stop.

I've been thinking a lot recently about what we as photographers really do. Is it create art? Sure, some of us do. Is it commerce? Again, some of us do this for money, yes. But is that the only time we pick up a camera? No.

We capture and preserve memories. For our clients, but more importantly, for us. Would you never take another picture if you thought you would never make a dime with your camera? If you ask any photographer what their most prized images are, I am willing to bet very few of them will pick their commercial endeavours. Most will pull out a special album that may have never seen the light of day to the public. Pictures of their families, their parents, their childhood homes or family vacations they went on. They will be of old friends, lost loves, loved ones lost. How often do you hear of someone saying that if their house burned down, they would go in and grab the TV first? I am not including any imagery in this post because I want you to think of you most cherished memories. Are their pictures of it?

Do you have kids? I just recently was given a box of childhood things from my mother. We moved around A LOT when I was a child. There were probably 10 pictures in it. I wish there were more. I have often seen my wife and sister going through albums of images from when they were children, laughing and remembering things, filling in the blanks for each other about who was in that picture or where they were at, how old were they, wow look at the outfit on mom! I have visions of my own children sitting at a dinner table long after I'm gone and doing the same thing, laughing about what a geek I was because I always had a camera. And then being thankful that I always had a camera.

Go, now, and find a way to document important and mundane things in your lives. Sometimes the day to day events are so much more meaningful to us as we get older. It's what bring the smiles to our faces as we remember the way uncle so & so used to belly laugh, or your dad used to give you "the look".

Then find a way to back up those precious memories. Hard drives and space are cheap. Off site solutions are plentiful. Back up to DVD and leave a copy at your office or your parents house. Carry a portable hard drive in your car that you back up to every other week. If you need ideas, ask me in the comments. If you have a routine, let me know down below, maybe someone will determine that may work for them.

And don't forget to create memories for yourself. Laughing and doing something you enjoy. Like going for a walk. While taking pictures. With a few old and new friends. Come join us on 8/29/09 as we celebrate community, photography, and the art of capturing memories.

http://fadedandblurred.com/

See you there. It will be a memorable experience