The Christmas Photo: A Mother's Day Story

I came across these photos just the other day. This is my grandmother from Christmas 2011 and it was our last Christmas with her. I see them and they bring me to tears. I miss her so much and think about her every day. Since today is Mother's Day, I'm reminded not only of the loving, selfless person she was, but if I had any doubt as to where my love of photos came from, I would have to search no longer. And not just the image you see on a screen, but the physical photograph you can hold in your hand and look at on your walls everyday. 
Photos meant everything to my grandma. The gift she's opening in the photo is from my sister who was stationed in Maine with the Coast Guard at the time. It was just a small framed photo, but as you can see, it was absolutely priceless to her. It meant more to her than any "thing" anyone could have bought her from the shelf of a store. More than anyone else I have ever known, grandma knew the power of a photo. 

It all boils down to the tangible memory!!! I have realized in recent years that people don't print?!! 
I was just as guilty of this at the beginning of my photography adventures. My images sat on hard drives or in the infamous "cloud" for that "one day" to arrive. ...one day when there was more money, more time, not so much going on, etc, etc. Until they don't work or don't open anymore. They become corrupted, lost or damaged. Or maybe technology just moves on like time did with the floppy disc. But hey, it lives on as a Save icon, right? ;) 

But why? Why take the photo at all? So much work, time, knowledge and  experience of photography, design and retouching go into the craft of creating even one image. That's so much work for some Facebook and Instagram "likes" to be forgotten a few days later when the hype is over. Maybe they'll get brought to the fore-front again on a "Throw-back Thursday" once in awhile.

The art is in the print and my job is not done until you are holding a printed product of the highest standards that will preserve your memories for generations. Besides that, printing is complicated. Allow a professional to worry about monitor calibration, saving the correct color space and file format, cropping...so many details. It takes a lot of work and skill and these photos will become family heirlooms. Because we need to remember that sometimes photos aren't only for ourselves.

So print your photos! They don't have to be professional to have value! These photos of my grandmother are neither perfect NOR professional, but to me the worth is far greater than any technical aspect. Make a small book or collage of those silly cell phone snapshots! 
Life is beautiful and it is short. You and your family deserve to have you exist in photos. 

What kind of legacy are you going to leave? 

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