Circles

Today, I photographed a birth. I saw a human being breathe air for the first time. It was the first portrait session that has ever made me cry to the point that I had trouble focusing. And it was a huge honor.

Today I also read the deeply moving tribute that my cousin Leah wrote about her Grandmother (my great Aunt Isabel) who has recently passed. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to get to know her. But it made me think about my own Grandmother's passing. How one day she was there. The next day, she was not. She had overcome countless obstacles in her long life. She had been strong, unwavering, determined. Way ahead of her time, she had even been The Lieutenant Commander. Then one day she was fragile, and flew away.

Today I'm feeling the circle of things. Maybe I'm also feeling melancholy and sentimental. I spent the evening going through old photographs, in the big bin. We all have them, don't we? The big bin? The one that sits unassumingly in your attic or basement. Mostly ignored, and taken for granted, it stores all your treasure memories. Summer camp. That boy. That note. That time. The way she laughed. The big bin stores the tangible evidence of your minutes. Just in case you forget. Because in the end, it's just not about the shutterspeed, or photoshop, or those cool new actions you just bought. In the end, all that matters is the Remembering.

Want to share your favorites? The ones that help you remember? 

Comments

[Tracey Clark]

Goodness, what a post. I'm so teary now I can't focus either. Time to get out the big bin and begin to Remember.

[vivienne]

yes, time to pull out the big bin!

i'm photographing one of my best friends births next month and am so excited and honoured to be asked to witness this emergence through the viewfinder!

this post also has me thinking of all the photo albums at my parents house that we go through each year. so beautiful!

[Bunny]

I try and capture the little things about my children that I don't want to forget: the softness of their skin, the curl of their lashes, the carefree hair. Sigh.

[mel from freak parade]

So beautiful I have lost two people close to me this year, so I have been doing lots of remembering. My son turned ten and my daughter is about to turn five.....so I have been doing even more remembering.

Here is one of my favorites. I can still remember this moment as if it had just happened.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/muckyyuck/2296098934/

So cool, you got to photograph a birth. :)

[patty craft]

Thank you for this post and your photo. My daughter's grandfather (on her dad's side) died yesterday and I'm in that same thought pattern of how the circle of life is constant. Births and deaths happen every day but sometimes we don't remember how powerful both events are until the circle touches our own hearts again.

Wishing you peace and love. Patty

[Melody A.]

This may happen at your house too. But my girls pull out their "big bin" a lot. I started a photo album for my oldest when she was little of random pictures, pictures that were sent to me, pictures of the dog, pictures of the girls when they were babies. They love it! They pull it out regularly and just look. Questions they ask are, "Where were we when you took this?", "How old am I here?", "When can we see Grandma?", "Do I still have that toy?" Reminiscing in their own way.

[Karen]

Maile --

Funny you should be writing this today -- I've actually spent the last few days going through my archives to put together a book for my daughter's 4th birthday celebration at her school. In doing so, I found my favourite newborn picture of her:

http://chookooloonks.blogphotography.com/archives/7899_1714915339/281315

and my favourite picture of her ever (taken for future blackmailing purposes):

http://chookooloonks.blogphotography.com/archives/7899_1714915339/281516

Great post!

K.

[Mrs. Eaves]

What a beautiful post.

[Ginna]

Thanks for the post. It's nice to think back, isn't it?

Here's one of my favorites--from when my siblings and I were little. We had such a great time together. It's such a funny picture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginnahendricks/2296297394/

I think I owe my mom for my love of photography...

[camerashymomma]

gosh, isnt' it amazing, being there in the first moment of fresh life? you are forever changed by that birth too, just like the mother was, just like the child who was welcomed. i attended a good friend's homebirth and it stayed with me for quite some time, in the same way as you are describing, everything became circular.

[Raven]

That picture is seriously stunning! Thank you for posting it!

I'll have to think on what I'm going to post for today and come back to it. So many memories :)

[maya]

How do you keep giving me these prompts that are so timely in my life?

Picture/post about my grandparent's house:
http://springtreeroad.typepad.com/springtreeroad/2008/01/dreams-of-sprin.html

My grandparents' back patio:
http://springtreeroad.typepad.com/springtreeroad/2008/02/since-i-started.html

[Maya]

What an honor to photograph a birth! We were lucky enough to have my mom in the room as our photographer and the moments she captured make me teary eyed every time I see them. Here's one of them I love...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73498912@N00/387034212/in/set-72157594530759010/

[toyfoto]

This is one of those pictures, I think, that doesn't jog the memory as much as it captures something not easy to forget.


http://siobhanconnally.com/

[FireMom]

This made me all weepy. I need to start PRINTING my photos.

[cherryfizzy]

I have never "learned" how to use my fancy camera. It was a gift for Mother's Day, and since then I have been delighted to just aim and click. One day, when time becomes mine again, I will be more invested in all of the gadgetry and magic that comes along with the knowledge of REALLY knowing how to operate it. But for now, I just relish the daily memories my camera affords me.

Like this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cherryfizzy/2249246721/

This is my daughter at my grandmother's gravesite. My grandmother, like Maile's, seemed simply to fly away one day - too soon to know her great-granddaughter. The moment captured here - uncomplicated, quiet and just lucky on my part - is a tender reminder to me of how fragile and lovely the life cycle truly is...

[Paige]

Beautiful, Maile. I cry like crazy when I watch A Baby Story, so I can't imagine photographing a birth. What a wonderful experience to have.

I love looking through old photos and remembering. Mine isn't very touching or sentimental, but something I should definitely remember.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkphoto/2295738821/

[Elizabeth]

Yes, the big bin. We all have one. Thank you for the lovely photo and lovely post.

[Chris]

This is a wonderful post. My 88 yr. old grandma won't be around much longer so one day I shot away and this is one of those photos that now sits in a frame next to my bed.
http://flickr.com/photos/jeroldssis/2296605826/?eOrig=2296586620

[Rachel Dallaire]

So very true. I am constantly reminding myself that sometimes it isn't about getting the "perfect" shot. It's about capturing the moment, even if you have to use the flash and the shot isn't composed the best way. Because those shots are the ones I'm going to show my kids someday and laugh or cry and smile.

There's a time and place for the creative "perfect" shots. And there's a time and a place to capture the moment in all its imperfection.

Thanks for the reminder and inspiration.

[krystyn]

After my grandmother's passing, my big bin got a lot bigger. I inherited photos dating all the way back to when cameras were first invented. Some of my treasures are photographs of people I never knew, printed on paper so thick it feels like a pound or two, with delicious contrast and hand tinted accents.

They don't as much hold memories for me as they do tie me to my immediate family. They tell me of where I came from, and make me reflect on my favorite things about my mother, my aunt, my sisters. My children. Their children.

My favorite isn't actually a photograph, but a handwritten journal entry that I later published online after my grandmother passed:

http://krystynheide.com/blog/2007/4/7/come-rain-or-shine.html

There are many days when I'm feeling overwhelmed and defeated, and reading this reminds me that snapping out of it is only a rootbeer float or a pincurl away. :)

[Sarah-Ji]

Wow. This post put a big lump in my throat...

I put together a Flickr set a couple years ago of photos from my Dad's life: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/sets/72057594127203690/detail/

Thanks for the post, Maile.

[Stephanie]

Every February all I seem to talk about, think about, and remember is my son's journey and survival of cancer and chemo. It doesn't get in the way of my day, but is always in the back of my mind this time of year as it is the anniversary of his diagnois. I am not feeling sorry for us, but just remembering. 3 years later it is still sinking in. If it all sank in at once I would probably be a basket case. Anyway, today I am sharing an online journal with photos I kept throughout his treatment. It helped me cope back then and today it helps me remember that even through all of that we are such a strong and happy family. I feel like the journey has brought us full circle. It has brought us the realization that without the rain, you cannot fully appreciate the sunshine, and that life is fleeting, short and fragile......so ENJOY the HECK out of it! I was hesitant about sharing, but here is:
http://www.caringbridge.org/md/calebsmith/index.htm

[Susiej]

This was lovely... it inspired a trip to my basement for the bin.

[Raven]

Okay, here is one for today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justexpressive/2296829640/

It's from '06 and the first time my son experienced "real" snow.

He had been so joyous all afternoon but when I got this shot he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I still don't know what he was so deep in thought about but I love how serious his expression is, and how small he seems.

[Shelli]

What a stunning photo and beautiful post! Here's my entry:

http://web.mac.com/pabis/Mama_of_Letters/Photograph.html

Thanks!

[Shelli]

What a stunning photograph and beautiful post! Here's my entry:

http://web.mac.com/pabis/Mama_of_Letters/Photograph.html

Thanks!

[leslie]

Thank you for this Maile.
I did just that, dug in the bin, and took a trip back to this lovely memory:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesophiephoto/2296873538/
which, in turn prompted this post:
http://lesophie.blogspot.com/2008/02/not-just-yet.html
Ah, fleeting time :)

[Ursula]

I love looking at people's hands, so this photo immediately piqued my interest. I'm teary eyed after reading the post.

It also reminds me of what a difficult year I had in losing both paternal grandparents within a this year.

Here is a post and some pictures from when my grandmother passed http://fabulousflyingzamoras.blogspot.com/2008/01/last-goodbye.html The first photo isn't great-film, then scanned-but it was a moment that I'm so glad was captured forever-on film and my heart, and hers for sure. The second photo is one of a few that I was able to get sent over from Europe for my father's 50th birthday-I made copies for myself and my sister as well.

Now more than ever, remembering is a good thing.

[Dana]

Beautifully said, Maile. How true it is that we should focus more on the experience and less on the shot.

These are my in-the-moment shots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23442266@N02/2296314395/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23442266@N02/2296314311/

[Cyndi]

A friend of ours died today, so the tone and feelings in your post are right with me! She was a beloved mother and sister and wife, of course she was a friend to many, but the other 3 roles will leave a void that will never be filled and will always be felt.
I am really reflecting on those roles in my life today and thinking about the impact of such an huge loss! Life is a never-ending circle of life, happiness, sadness, and death. Relationships and memories are the important things!
Thanks for the reminder!
Some of my favorite memories -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2199864843/in/set-72157603389019899/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2217254947/in/set-72157603608210691/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2196496038/in/set-72157603608210691/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2140627370/in/set-72157603180035647/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/1376970660/in/set-72157603389019899/

[yasmine]

From the digital bin, here is my photo about Remembering:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaznotjaz/377018315/

This man was feeding birds at Lake Merritt, in Oakland, on what was a particularly bittersweet day for me. His silent stillness in that photo, and Lake Merritt in general, always reminds me of Her.

[Jennifer]

I love that photo. And your words. And your cousin's words.
I also posted about my grandmother today.
http://inthemeantime.typepad.com/in_the_meantime/2008/02/the-ohara-hands.html
The circle of things, indeed. And the remarkable women who go before us.

[melody]

Oh yes, it is all about remembering. Fabulous post...thank you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melsphotophun/2221713818/

[Ruth]

Truly a heart-warming post about the quality of life. I frequently think about the photo of my two grandfathers walking me down the isle at my wedding. It's one of the last pictures of one of them with me, and I cherish it. My father was able to conduct the ceremony for my husband and I, and it was always my wish that the older generation of men would both be there to "give me away".

[natala]

sometimes I feel as though photos are simply the back drop to our soul. I took this photo as I was letting go of the past.

http://atheart.wordpress.com/2008/02/17/hello-world/

[olivia]

Maile,

Your writing is much like your photography....beautifully lit with lights & darks.
We have to have the different hues to create the picture...
right? Life is like that, too. The "circle" would
not be balanced without a full spectrum.

I need to get into my bin, too....I LOVE to do that! This is one thing I kinda hate about digital photography...such a bittersweet thing for me.

p.s. I am trying to learn how to post a pic:)

[Leah Bean]

Maile, this a beautiful post! Thank you for making me part of it. Time constantly amazes me, teaches me, that it will pass no matter what, no matter how hard I want to stop it and/or rush it forward. The trick, I guess, is to be aware that it is passing, and cherish what it teaches, as best we can.

And to the other women here posting, kudos on this community, and on such wonderful photographs and memories!

Love!

[Vanessa]

Thank you for this tender and wonderful post, Maile.
You made me think of a self portrait I took a couple of years ago.

So I posted it today here: http://risingtothechallenge.blogspot.com/2008/02/thursday-thirteen-really-cool-edition.html

It's number 12 on my list.
Vx

[Mendy]

That bin... yes I have several bin's and unfortunately now with digital "that bin is now becoming more of that cd or mr\emory stick filed away somewhere! This post reminds me why I print all pictures I take and the significance all pictures have! Also just a comment but how is it that way back when our grandparents had that bin of black & white odd shaped photos with that fancy lace looking trim did all the pictures look perfect! Maybe they just did not shoot like I do so many times of the same shot just hoping the next one will be it! Anyways.............. the things that make us go hmmmmm.
Mendy

[Kristyn]

I just love this picture. I keep coming back to it and thinking about it. Super!