I have the inherent desire to capture moments and memories. I value memorable experiences over physical items. I am more content to pay $2000 for a trip across Europe than a few months rent in an apartment. That’s just me.
For the longest time, I sucked at remembering these great times I had because I didn’t take any pictures. I was at the mercy of someone else’s camera and my own (poor) photographic memory.
The only thing I had to rely on was my journal.
I try to journal every night before I go to sleep. It’s a practice I have maintained for the last three or four years. I have lost consistency at points in between, but the ritual lives on. I generally recap the events of the day. Some days I focus in on the emotional side of one or two things. It can be an introspective experience.
If you don’t journal right now, I suggest you make it a habit immediately. It is fascinating to look back on the things you have done and felt.
This fascination with looking back allowed me to see value in all the moments of my life and sparked an interest in photography for me.
The other spark, the one that ultimately led to me biting the bullet and dropping some money on a Nikon D3300 kit, was my future career. No, I was not planning to be a photographer. I wanted the option of being a freelance writer.
The problem with being a freelance writer is that it requires a lot more than just writing. You are expected to snap your own pictures, build your own sources, edit and produce everything from top to bottom. This meant that I needed to start learning some new skills.
When I first got my camera, I could not stop taking pictures. I took it everywhere I went. I started viewing my surroundings in completely different ways like, “Oh this would be a great shot!” or “if I can just tweak the blues in this…” or “wow that person has a great smile”.
I took pictures of all kinds of junk. Sometimes I took pictures of literal junk. A lot of times my pictures came out looking like junk. Thankfully, I had Nathan around to offer advice on how to improve my skills.
Seriously, the guy knows what he is doing and his passion for photography is through the roof.
Sadly, that initial fire to photograph everything around me has settled down to embers, but the potential is still there. I’m going to New York for five days and then backpacking through Europe for two weeks this summer. I guarantee that good photo opportunities will be capitalized on. There is no chance I’m letting those moments go uncaptured and you shouldn’t let yours go uncaptured either.
The Ether Place 