photograph your present

How often do you photograph your present?

This week has been a little overwhelming and sad for my family. Due to an unfortunate accident, my uncle passed away yesterday unexpectedly. As we are waiting on our family members to arrive later this week from all over the country so we can celebrate my uncle, I have been mentally going through my photo archives and thinking of all of the occasions I have seen my uncle that I have photographed. Want to know the saddest part? I don’t think I have anything more recent than 2013. As a niece, that is heartbreaking. As a photographer, I feel like I have failed. I forgot to photograph the present. I photograph for my job so much that I usually don’t want to haul my camera around for those personal memories of my family. But this is a slap in the face – my personal memories are just as important.

So here are my 2 challenges for you

 photograph your present.

Your future is not guaranteed. Your family members’ and friends’ future are not guaranteed either. Take tons of photos. Silly photos. Happy photos. Sad photos. I promise you that you won’t ever be sorry you did.

 print your photos.

As a photographer, I stink at this as well as many others. But I have been getting better and slowly my apartment is filling up with photos of my precious nephews and niece. Even if you cannot print all of your photos, take the time to sit down and print some of them. Hang them up on your walls. Put them on your corkboards and refrigerators. Put them in frames on your shelves. Give them to family members.

No matter the camera you have available to you or the quality of the print you can afford, photograph your present.

xx,
Sami