the lost years

 

After watching the Kelly Corrigan video about capturing life's everyday moments, I realized that digital photography has changed the way I document our lives.  I can scan through thousands of digital images of a freckly 12 year old, crazy dogs, and weekend adventures in Florida. 

But there is a glaring hole in the family story that makes me teary-eyed.  Like most of you, I missed capturing all these same activities with my older child.  We have an occasional photo from an old film camera or school photos but that is the extent of it.  No heartwarming shots of silly toothless grins, skateboarding with friends, or camping at the ranch.

I am now making it a point to seek out moments with my him before he heads off to college in January.  Quietly, I snap away as he strums his guitar, plays the piano, or falls asleep on the sofa.  I can not fill in all the lost years but as I hold these photos in my hands, I can see the little boy that he once was and the man he is becoming.

Take a few moments today to capture your loved ones as they go about their day.  Don't let even the simplest of moments pass you by.  You won't regret it.

We are giving away one $100 Paper Coterie gift card EVERY SINGLE DAY of September to one of YOU! All you have to do is share a comment each day before midnight EST for your chance to win that day's random drawing. Be sure to leave links to your story shots.

Comments

[Lynn]

This is such a great reminder! Recently I've come to understand that I want to take photos to remember the details of my story, rather than to capture images for somebody else. It's easy to forget that much more of the story takes place in day-to-day life and not just on special occasions.

[Marcie]

Aaah yes. It gets harder and harder to capture them in their 'moments' as they grow and go:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/archives/italy/8351742

[Debbie Ealer]

This is so awesome. I feel the same about my oldest. There are about 16 photo books though that say I supported film hardily.I miss going through the digital and seeing more of him. I asked him out to dinner tonight. Ill have to remember to take the camera and capture an everyday moment with him.Thanks for the reminder!!

[Kathryn Dyche Dechairo]

What a beautiful capture. I don't usually take photos of people but it was a good reminder to capture images of loved ones.

[bella]

sometimes i wonder, how did the time pass so quickly?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cirovic/6061944906/in/photostream

[Bridget [aviary]]

This is the same way I feel also. Just the other day, I looked through the photos that I shot of my kids at this same time last year and I was amazed at how much they have grown and changed. Makes photography even more meaningful to me and I'm so thankful for those tangible memories:

http://aviaryimagescanvas.blogspot.com/2011/09/life-gives-us-brief-moments-with.html

[s.patel]

every time i hear someone say, "I can't believe it is already [insert name of month that has come way too fast," I think whether I missed out on capturing a part of the month that just flew by. i definitely need to be more conscious of this throughout the month!

[Jen*Murphy]

This hits so close to home. I have a senior and junior in high school. For one thing, they run when they see me with my camera. I have a computer full of random images of them when they are in their middle years and boxes of prints of them as toddlers.
I took them out this past Sunday to get some senior photos of my son. This one is of the two of them. It was my daughter's idea to do this shot. The light was harsh and my focus was off, but this is a new favorite of mine.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlm513_jens_pics/6168647581/

[lucy]

that is exactly the reason why i treated myself to a digital point&shoot a few years back, quickly followed by a dlsr. i had tons of film pictures of my kids when they were little, but almost none after the age of 10. now i capture them whenever and wherever i can. sometimes they even pose for me!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4763645459/

[Rebecca]

I have so much the same feeling. Of my 18 yr. old, I just don't have a huge amount of photos. With each child I've had, I believe the amount of photos has gone up, to now where with my 2 yr old, I have taken thousands and thousands of photos of him in his relatively short life. My first daughter has a huge gap in photos, as we had just gotten our first digital camera, and all the photos are saved on Zip drives, and I haven't had much success trying to find a way to transfer them reasonably.

[Mira]

What a wonderful picture! It's a keeper for sure. My husband hates pictures so I secretly take pictures of him to preserve memories for years to come. Great post with some great points!

[Heather]

I have two boys and reading your post put a little lump in my throat. It goes by too fast.

[koreen]

Thank goodness for digital! I'm super lucky because digital was here to stay before my son was born, so I've been able to document more than I could have with film. I only wish I had gotten into it much earlier than I did... I would have had better photos from his babyhood. As it is, I look through my photo files and see some months had only a few photos, and I wonder why. Now, the camera is out almost everyday, and even when I'm on a photoshoot, I'm sure to snap a few of him (because he sometimes goes with me!). :D

[Heather]

This is why I can not bring myself to erase any photos i take on my phone. Sometimes i sit here and just flip thru every single one, and I can vividly remember when it was taken and why it means so much to me.

[Puna]

I love the photo. A typical teen moment. Thank you for the reminder to capture. I will do so today.

[Kelly]

I really enjoyed this post - makes me so determined to capture as much as I can.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58821554@N06/6160749013/in/photostream

[isabella rose]

I have two little girls and luckily got a digital camera their first year. I love looking back at all of those every day moments...always wishing, despite the thousands of images, that I had captured more.

[jackie]

can definitely relate to this post. although i did take quite a few film pictures back in the day. we just sent our oldest off to college this year and ever since his high school graduation it's as if i've had a film reel playing in my head of all the years that have passed. and the wish that in addition to more photos, that i had more video and audio of how he sounded as a young boy! *sigh*

[chris]

true words....

[autumn sun]

this touches me. it's true the photos get fewer and farther between as our children grow older. that's why i was pretty conscious of getting photos of my daughter during our last summer vacation. trying to catch her unawares - it's those moments that tell the story of them better than the posed photos. She'll be graduating from college soon and i'm afraid our time together will be less and less.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5927569654/

[laura]

I've been lucky to have a digital camera since before having my children. I've always taken the camera out a few times a week to capture our daily life. A feeling a joy comes over me as I look back over their early years.

[Shawna]

I'm so lucky digital was here before I had my first and all those moments are captured for both my kids! I recently bought a fireproof, waterproof backup hard drive, so hopefully all those precious moments are safe and secure forever! (I really must print more out though...)

[Corinna]

I'm lucky in that the technology coincided neatly with the inspiration and the babies in my community, and I completely agree that part of my motivation is to make the little moments live on.

http://www.birdwannawhistle.com/blog/2011/9/20/calculus-of-birthdays.html

[anngeedee]

I actually feel this way about my youngest. I was just learning to use my camera when my son came along and I think I photographed everything he ever did. When my daughter arrived, the chaos in our life more than doubled and I didn't seem to carry along the camera as often. She's getting bigger everyday, and I feel like I'm missing it sometimes. Here's a shot from Monday. She may not always be interesting in holding hands so I'll cherish this time: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anngeedee/6164372503/in/photostream

[Michelle Bodamer]

I feel this way about almost everyone in my family for different reasons. Some because of age, some because they change so quickly. We don't have a lot of photos of my husband as a kid, so I've spent a lot of our time photographing us doing different things. The dogs? Forget it... they aren't immune. I photograph almost their every movement. Laying on the porch? Photograph. Standing in the yard? Photograph. I just feel like the day-to-day are all of the special moments I don't want to miss and need to preserve as our family history.

[Kim Mailhot]

I really regret that we don't have many pictures of my grandmother towards the end of her life. We often think about capturing kids growing but not so much about our elders who are heading towards the end of their journey with us.
Love that you have made capturing your son in this moment of his life a priority , Tammy.
Thanks for the giveaway !
Happy Snapping !

[JEANNE]

Wanted to share a couple of my favorites with you on my blogpost! http://thebutterflymetamorphosis.blogspot.com/2011/09/hang-on-to-those-priceless-memories.html?spref=fb
Since I have gotten my DSLR I have loved getting candid snaps of those that I love, and so easy to enjoy on my computer! What a wonderful way to be able to recreate your memories. so easy to carry your camera around with you and you are ready whenever to moment strikes!

[NatsterNat]

This post is such a great reminder to catch those everyday moments (even if my husband is annoyed that I have my camera with me AGAIN). This shot is of my youngest about a month ago... he LOVES motorcycles (well any vehicle for that matter). He's actually making motorcycle sounds while he drives this bike on our table. I guess the Harley my husband bought 4 years ago was a blessing in disguise, as my little guy loves to just look at it whenever he gets the chance... nevermind watching (and hearing) Dad go for a ride!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58861148@N02/6169571035/in/photostream

[Geneil]

I can totally relate to this post. I just sent my second son off to college last month. My third and youngest was born in 1998 and we got our first digital camera in 2001 or 2002. But I really didn't know what I was doing with it until two or three years ago. I do have photos of all my kids when they were little, but oh I wish I had then the camera (and technology) I have now.

[carolann]

Wonderful, beautiful post; like so many, I have tons of baby/toddler prints but the last 10 yrs are just holidays and special events. Those everyday moments only captured in my memory. My camera is out, thank you!

[wendy herring]

I love these little moments :) the real moments in every day life are treasured. you can't get those back

[Margo K]

Your so right about the photos. In fact next time me daughter returns from college I will take alot of pics, whether she likes it or not LOL. Thanks for sharing such a generous giveaway.

[joey]

I'm so behind on my written journal, but I do have a lot of pictures. Acorn salad anyone?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19379573@N06/6170297702/in/photostream

[Michelle (Mamadunk)]

Ugh. I'm really feeling the emotion about this topic in the last week or so. My oldest (now a Middle Schooler) turned 12 last week.... a few weeks after my youngest started full-day Kindgergarten. I watched a video linked the other day from a favorite blog called "Gift of an Ordinary Day" and it made me realize how fast time is going and how important it is to take pictures of every day moments.

My 12 year old doesn't like to pose for me anymore. I pretty much have to sneak pictures of him. The good part is that he plays lots of baseball so I can photograph him as much as I want from a far. I try to capture him in action, but also like to capture emotional shots of excitement, celebration, etc. One particular game this past summer we had just returned from a three hour drive after laying my husband's grandmother to rest in Vermont. The kids were having a close game. My son was up to bat with 2 outs and 2 strikes against him. He came up with a clutch hit that put the team ahead. While the other team warmed up another pithcer my son walked over to his teammate and friend. I captured this shot.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29333822@N07/6170302918/

He told me later that he had prayed to his Great Grandmother for her help at bat. I'm glad I always have my camera out at my kids' games!

[claudia]

thankfully I took lots of film photos of my oldest when he was younger, was feeling guilty about the lack of photos when his younger brother came along, but now that I'm digital I've made up for some of the younger and now the older doesn't want his photo taken! What's really sadly lacking... are photos of me :( since I'm the photographer I'm rarely in them. I have to really make an effort to remember to hand the camera off to my hubby and cross my fingers that they'll be in focus ;)

[kathryn]

my oldest daughter does not like me to take her photo...so this is a rare photo of her when we went to the old abandoned LA zoo so she could get shots for her high school photography class!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathrynhansen/5076034006/in/set-72157625025526865

[yzzilyzzid]

i'm like you - i wish I had taken more pictures of my boys. Today, this is all I'm able to capture now that my nest is officially empty as of last Sunday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yzzilyzzid/6170626642/

[Lelainia Lloyd]

I am on my 3rd online digi photog course this year. It's revolutionize the way I document the large and small moments of my life and transformed my artistic life. I too mourned the fact that if I had only known then what I know now, but then realized that the tools we use now-digi cams, Picnik, photoshop and all that good stuff was not available in the past. The good news is that I now have the equipment and skills to use to my best advantage and I am determined to do so. It's added another layer to the story telling of my life.

[Radish]

My response is on my blog: www.day2dayradishes.squarespace.com

[Meghan @ Life Refocused]

Such a good reminder to not lose the moments we'll regret not capturing. xo

[Paula]

I, too, had a half film, half digital child. He will head to college next year. I am steeling myself for the hole that will appear in my days, but I'm glad I have so many film and digital moments to remind me that we have had an (extra)ordinary life together.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/holomama/6166015956/

[sarah :: greenclogs]

So so true. I take all I can get - especially of the older ones. That and I have a huge scanning project ahead of me because I was good at documenting back in the film days - I just don't have the digital files to prove it.

[Bonnie]

I did not become interested in photography until my kids were a bit older, but they are still young enough. One thing I wish I'd captured more was their voice though . . . we have some video here and there with audit tracks, but probably not enough.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjakobsen-martin/6171095196/

[Barbara]

I love the reminder to continue to snap pictures as our kids get older. I want to be an old lady sitting down with my grandkids flipping through photo albums one day and telling them stories about their parents. Here's what I'd say about this one: Your Dad (who was 9 at the time) and I use to play HORSE after dinner. I would try to take his picture, but all he would let me do is take a picture of his feet (true story from tonight!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50654891@N07/6170580305/

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[Robin Troxell]

I agree with Bonnie above about getting their voices - I have TONS of pics but hardly any video - mostly of my oldest until she was about 2 then I really dropped off!!

[blue elephant photography]

time flies by so fast. i adore the photo you have there :) this is me captured by scott today. 4 years of our life in a box and now moving on to our first home together ♥ http://bit.ly/n3kSgB

[pamela]

it doesn't matter how old they get, they still look adorable when they sleep.

[Jodi]

I've been feeling the same need to freeze time with my oldest son, as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64098150@N08/6170973529/

[Amber's Articles]

I have thought about this many times and thought how thankful I am to have a digital camera to capture my first son from birth on. It is the snapshots that we love!!!

I try to share story photos on a weekly basis during my Multitude Monday posts http://ambocullum.blogspot.com/2011/09/multitude-monday-68.html