Photography in my Life

Photography has been amongst my special interests for almost as long as I can remember. Looking back now, that interest was most likely influenced by father's own involvement and enjoyment in photography. The camera was practically glued to his right hand on all occasions, anticipating my next move: Ashley's first swimming lesson, Ashley's first (pulled) tooth, Ashley's first day of school, etc. As irritating as it may have seemed at times, his picture taking is now something that I'm most thankful for, as he has provided my family with a thousand memories. The way a camera is able to capture a single moment, where faces, body language, and setting are all revealed, is something that still amazes me every time a shutter button is pressed and released. 

Photographs are exceptionally important to my family. My mother seems to believe that pictures are completely necessary in order to remember a specific moment, important or not. She has hung pictures all over our house, and judging by the unequal amount of photos we have posed to candid, I believe she prefers posed pictures, but I know there are few candid ones that steal her heart. For example, the photo below is one of her favorites as well as mine:

It so perfectly captures a moment representative of my youth with my twin sister, Katie. Of course, I was too young to remember, but my Mom always tells me that the natural, giggly grin on both of our faces was consistently present throughout day-to-day life. I love when my Mom gives me insight to how I was as a child in this moment or that, inspired by pictures. I admire photography’s time travel mechanism, allowing one to visit any moment, person, or place captured in an image. Family photography usually inspires memories for me, thus giving me knowledge about my past that I would have otherwise forgotten.