The Value of a Photograph

A photograph is the pause button on life.

This is the time of year where we remember Kent’s Father. It has been almost 3 years since we lost him. We have our memories and stories of him. And we have photographs. When you don’t have someone anymore, memories and pictures become all-the-more important.

In the days after his passing, and as the Celebration of Life was being organized, a request was put out to all of our extended family by our nephew. He was the slideshow organizer and he was asking us to contribute photos of our Father/Father-in-law/Grandpa to a cloud folder. It was so special to me to have lots of photos of all of us with him over many years. There were photos of him working alongside Kent on many different reno projects. Photos of me with him on hikes and bike rides. There were photos of him holding our babies and reading books with them, giving them hugs and playing board games. During the Celebration of Life Service, a long slideshow played out across the screen in front of us. I loved seeing everyone’s photographic contribution to depict the man we all knew and loved. It was moving for those of us that were close to him, but also for those who didn’t know him so well. It was such a powerful and accurate testament to who he was.

We are always snapping pictures with our phones and can become so inundated with photos that the value of them is lowered. We don’t do much with them. They sit in the cloud and we rarely print them because its such a mission. The process is so involved and time-consuming. Or we post to social media and rely on our facebook memories. We don’t care if they are blurry, underexposed, poorly composed or the colours are off. Lots of people don’t even notice if they are poor quality they just feel good that they ‘took the photo’. I heard my oldest daughter tell someone the other day that she didn’t like other people’s photos of her. They always looked bad. She only liked the ones I took of her. While it is true that a picture taken is better than a picture that is not taken I wish that more people had high-quality photographs, especially of their loved ones. Sometimes we don’t think it’s important until its all we have left.

In many instances, I find my recall of events is linked to a picture. Photography is the best cure for a bad memory! I am getting old enough now that many memories are getting fuzzy but a picture can bring it all back for me. I find the same with my kids. They were too young to remember, but the printed photobooks that they flick through spark something in them. They bring something to the surface; a twinkle in their eye, the understanding that they are loved, and that life is awesome.

You will hear it said that the best camera is the one that’s in your hand. Yes! Absolutely. But what if you took the time, money and energy to hire a professional and you got photos that were sharp, clear and captured the essence of who you were as a family? Photos that would be a treasure to your entire family, for always? Photos that if your house was burning down would be part of the treasures that you wouldn’t want to lose and would grab before you evacuated? Photos are THAT important!

We all know how fast kids grow and how quickly they change. The best thing about a picture is that it never changes even when the people in it do.

*Photos of a beautiful family on a snowshoeing photo adventure. Click here for other families that have adventured with us, or contact us if you would like to participate in your own 🙂