Who's That Girl?

A moment captured that is gone forever – a photograph. 
I have been going through several bins of items collected over the years and some of which include boxes and albums filled with plenty of photographs dating back to childhood.  Obviously more recently photos are just stored on CD’s or in the cloud, heck even just your phone but back in the day you would take your roll in to be processed and developed and keep all these wonderful moments in some sort of book or box.  It is amazing how you can capture a specific feeling or moment in time and relive that by just a simple glance at that specific photo.  Those special moments may have even been forgotten as time goes by but in that instant you can be taken back and remember. 

A little fun fact about myself is that I took a certificate program through Humber College for photography many, many years ago.  This is way before all the digital photography became a thing and it was such an incredible program to take.  Learning how to snap a photo with all the settings and rules and then even developing them yourself – I can still smell the chemicals in the dark room while standing there using special tongs and hanging images to drip dry from a line.  I often miss those days and that creative part of my brain that I used.  I still have my old Canon EOS camera and lenses that I just can’t part with because of all those great memories.  I know, that makes me sound vintage or old but so be it.  The new camera’s now scare me!  Although they are supposed to be user friendly, I wouldn’t even know where to start with all the functions and options they offer.  Yet another example of how time and technology have changed our world.

Throughout my home I have several images, many of which I personally have taken.  Whether it be from worldly places we’ve visited over the years like Italy, Jamaica, Hawaii or even some beautiful family moments I captured from when Mila was a newborn – each time I pass them I smile and reminisce.  Lately I’ve been looking at them as I would like to update some and also have plans of putting up one very important image that has a very special place in our family’s heart – an image I captured that was a beautiful moment between father and daughter on one of our amazing Disney Cruise vacations.  A moment I want Mila to hold on to forever as it shows the pure happiness and joy they shared.  What that image didn’t show was the pain we were all feeling too.  It didn’t show the fear I was feeling as when we returned from that trip Mila would be undergoing yet another surgery.  It didn’t show the pain her dad was suffering from on a daily basis, and it definitely didn’t show any fears that Mila had knowing of what was to come over the next couple months.  It just showed a family embracing and sharing in a beautiful moment – the calm before the storm and no other worries or cares for just a second.  I am so eternally grateful I captured it. 

I also have been taking more photos recently of all the new special moments and memories we are creating in our new life – even forcing myself to be in them.  It is very easy to just hide behind the camera or to avoid snapping a moment all together, but I want to be sure I have reminders of any moments as we heal, move forward and rebuild too.  It’s also easy to not want to capture moments because of how it can appear to other people, but we are completely entitled and allowed to have happiness and to capture it along the way.  Memories of how resilient, relentless and determined we are to have good in our lives despite the hardship’s life can bring your way.  What a beautiful reminder of how you’ve grown as a person and family as well.

So, as we enter this long weekend and do things with our family and friends be sure to take a moment and snap some photos – do it often and be sure to revisit them and relive those special moments from time to time.

LM