These days are difficult for Faby and me. As I am writing, we are a flying over Europe to pay respect to Faby’s father, who suddenly left us the other day. And just the other day, an old schoolmate of mine tagged me on a photo of my father on Facebook. All these circumstances made me think about the importance to remember through images. Last week I went hunting for visual memories of myself in my teens, and I was not able to find many.
Remember through images is one of the most powerful triggers of memories we have, but how do we make sure to have them?
Take photos. Always.
It may seem obvious, but there are many instances in which we could have taken just one more photo and did not. There are moments in which we forget we are living in the digital era. Nowadays almost every phone has a camera, but we still fail to capture important moments. To remember through images, we need to take our camera or phones out when we need them.
Many times we either don’t think about having a photo of a particular moment because they seem just… normal. I am an advocate of finding the extraordinary in the everyday life, to realise that every breath we take carries uniqueness often underestimated.
Live the moment and capture the instant
A type of photo that amazes me every time I see it is the one that captures the crowd at concerts. Thousands of people, all with a phone, a camera or even a tablet to photograph the entire event. As a professional photographer, I can tell you that there is nothing more important than to remember through images, but there is a difference between a moment and an instant. We capture instants, we make sure the one we register counts, but we love to live the moment. A live concert is a unique experience -like many others, this is just an example- that needs to be lived. If you want to remember through images, capture a couple of instants. Images are gateways to memories and emotions, we don’t need five thousand snaps to be catapulted back in time, we just need a couple.
Ensure you have a safe place for your digital files
In today’s interconnected world, the most dangerous place where to store your memories is your computer. Start storing your files online, everyone offers free, or very cheap solutions to keep your data in the cloud. Google, Dropbox, Microsoft, Bitcasa, you name it. If you think this is not logic, think about how many times you service your computer, checking its reliability? Cloud services generally keep multiple copies of your files. Also, important to consider is the fact that your data are not in your own home, so whatever happens (water, fire, burglary, etc…) your memories will not be affected, allowing you to remember through images.
The importance to remember through images
Going through these difficult days, we have been looking back to images of our beloved ones. As everyone else, we relied on photos to being catapulted back in time where we could still hug the people we love, when we could still tell them “I Love You”. Sadly, when they are gone, we can remember through images, but we can’t hold their hands.
“Cameras were invented for the purpose of preserving what was transient”
What I am trying to say, in a way that I am sure is written in a too emotional way, is that there is not a single moment I would not photograph. I would not like to miss a smile, nor a tear. Posed images, candid shots, boudoir, portraits, family, you name it. Today, after reading this, why don’t you take a moment to capture an instant of your today, of yourself or your beloved ones.
The you of tomorrow will thank you for that.
With much Love,
Faby&Carlo