Preserving Memories

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I didn't get a digital camera until much later than a lot of my friends. I had my old fashioned camera, which was probably very good fifteen years ago, and hadn't thought about upgrading it. That said, I also realized I'd stopped taking photos. I was relying on friends and family to record significant events, and had none of my own images.

It wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. I am still of the age where I think all this new technological equipment is going to be pricey, but the opposite is true. I spent a while on shopping comparison sites, researching cheap digital cameras, until I found a good deal.

However, now I have made this purchase, I am addicted. Having a four year old, it is great to have a digital camera. I can capture so many moments, and I don't have to worry about the cost of film and processing. I love the age he is now, and I am determined not to forget anything.

My four year old, who draws pictures of dinosaurs with computers, finds no fascination with this technology at all. As soon as a photo is taken, he wants to view it straight away. I've tried explaining to him that when I was a kid we had to send our film away for developing, and we wouldn't get to see the photos for about a month, but it doesn't sink in. Not only does he have no real concept of time, his mind cannot handle the idea of a world without immediacy in technology.

Yet, it's not just my son I want to capture. I want to take photographs of my mother who always seems to undertake the role of family snapper, and consequently rarely appears in any of the images. And then there's my ninety two year old grandmother who I am capturing to attempt to preserve my memory of her.

The decision to buy a new camera may also be symptomatic of living in a beautiful place. Whilst I realize there are people who take brilliant pictures of urban environments, this never appealed to me. My inner city estate didn't inspire me, but the beautiful landscape and light of the Cornish beaches does. It has brought out a creative aspect to my photography I didn't know existed.
I'm not brilliant at what I do, I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination. However, occasionally I take a shot I am really proud of, which I either frame and put on the wall, or print off, mount, and use as cards for friends.

I try not to bore friends and family with endless hours of images, and on the whole, I manage not to. I am, however, very pleased with my camera, and I can spend many happy hours, by myself, sorting through my files, working out which ones I want to print, and most importantly, smiling at beautiful places and happy memories.