I have always loved looking at pictures. Back in my day (a phrase I never thought I’d use) I took a lot of pictures with a device that you couldn’t talk to people with or look up random facts on something called the internet. It was called a camera. This device contained something called film. Let me explain, for you young folks.
I got my first camera in junior high and took it with me on a trip to Disneyland with my show choir. As a side note, show choir was awesome. We were awesome because we didn’t have to sing those boring old choral arrangements, but jazzy numbers like “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even the occasional pop song one might hear on the radio. We were also awesome because we had dance moves. Yep, jazz hands included. We were cool long before Glee came along.
Anyway…back to the camera. I took pictures on that trip of things that only our nerdy cool choir would appreciate. When I returned home I carefully pulled the used film out of my camera and waited anxiously for my parents to drive me to the drugstore where I could fill out the envelope, pop my film inside, and then wait. I waited for at least five days, which seemed like an eternity, to view all the crazy photos of my friends and me.
Anyone remember this? Remember when you had to choose wisely which shots to take so as not to waste your film? And then there was the pain-staking decision of whether or not to get doubles, because some of those pics would be too good to only have one copy.
Then someone came up with…get ready for it…one hour photo. This was a real game changer which brought about another tough decision. Is my lack of impatience so great that I am willing to fork over the extra cash so I can rip open that envelope and check out my photography skills? What will I do to kill time for that hour? Lord knows there were no portable devices to stare at, or Angry Birds to play.
These were the tough decisions we had to face back in 1986. That began my love of taking pictures. I won’t say photography because I see that as an art form. And what I do with a camera is definitely not art.. Although, with Instagram I am a bit of an artist.
I have three huge Rubbermaid containers filled with photo albums. I still love getting those out and looking at them. My kids will never know what it’s like to have to wait a week to see if you got a good shot in front of Disneyland, or if you were able to fit everyone in the frame. Now we have instant results. We can snap a hundred photos until we get the one we like. We can delete the ones that make us look pregnant, or like we have three chins. We don’t have to suffer the disappoint of paying to get film developed only to find out half the pictures were too dark to make out any faces.
We have it pretty easy in the photo department these days. I’m grateful. It is a little sad though, when your four-year-old hands you your phone and says, “Can you take a picture of me in this dress? You HAVE to put it on Instagram.” Yikes.
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| My first camera…kidding. It looked more like this… |
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| I was a few years behind in the camera department. PS. Michael Landon’s hair is fantastic. |
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| Show Choir. Hot pink bowtie and cummerbund. I’m into it. |
