Today during work I was asked to send both a baby picture and a picture from my teenage years to a co-worker. We are having a “virtual baby shower” tomorrow for one of my team members, and this is going to be a part of the shower. Luckily, I had scanned some old photos that now hang out on my computer, so it was fairly easy to do. However, during the process I started to get sucked into looking at all of the pictures that I do have on my computer.
Ah pictures. There are so many of them, especially since I got my first digital camera. However, I also have a lot of pictures from the old print days when I was taking pictures all of the time in high school and college. What is it about taking and having pictures?
There are some people who note that you don’t want to spend your whole life taking pictures because by doing that, you are missing out on life itself. I respect that. My son was born into a world that is all digital pictures, and I can only imagine the amount of images he will have taken of or by him. Phones also make it all too easy to take a large volume of snapshots. I understand there has to be a balance here. However, I think pictures are important. As I started looking at my digital pictures all I could do was smile, and it was an enjoyable experience. I know that going through my old print ones would also bring me a lot of joy.
So, when it comes to pictures, everyone has to decide what balance works for them. Don’t miss out on life by taking pictures all of the time, however, make sure you have a way to remember the good times. There is a way to make photos complement instead of overwhelm.