I am a photographer. I go and capture a split second, moments in time that the memory may eventually forget. Currently, I am working on a personal project. I have gone through about 20,000 personal prints of the past 15 or so years. While going through them, I have realized that I am not just a photographer. I am a “Documenter”. I have documented, through film so many important moments. Not just the big events, baptism, birthdays etc… but those everyday things. For me, my camera is an extension of my memory.
While sometimes our memories fade, these “documents” bring back a flood of memories. In the past week, I have been able to relive many good times and a few not so good. The family photo, where my girls have their hair in perfect pigtails, and I look like I forgot to brush my own hair. A picture of my sons fat lip with stitches after he decided to shave for the first time (at age 2). My younger daughter giggling with her friend. They were probably about 5 years old. I showed her friends mother and though we could not remember what they were laughing about, we certainly made up a few good “stories” to fill in with! Also there are my “mom” shorts- to high waisted, my husband with glasses, pictures of people I miss. Those everyday shots are my favorites. Things that may seem mundane- running down the block getting off the bus, eating breakfast, even children brushing their teeth. These things are usually not captured, because the happen every day. But sometimes, they are the most important moments to capture- since the capture the real person.
For my personal project, I still have to go through all of my digitial files (easily 75,000) more photos. I can not wait to look through them all. Still, with the immense amount of photos I have, I still wish I could I have taken more. I know that there a shots that I missed, moments that just will not happen again. For that I will have to rely on my memories.
Mom's Gonna Snap 