Photo Aversion

I'm sure you are all aware that there are some brilliantly talented photographers out there in blogland. Whether the subject be children or crafts or animals or even barbed wire, I always find myself captivated by the amazing quality of capturing something in such a beautiful manner.
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Some of you, it seems, must carry your camera around with you anywhere you go. I have witnessed so many wonderful moments caught on film, like a sunny fall day of raking the leaves, or catching a daddy lovingly pampering his little girl, or spying on the kids enjoying kid-dom, or even finding a rare Pegasus in all its glory. These are all moments that I would never even dream of pulling out my camera for.
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Why is that, you ask?
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Exhibit A:

The Camcorder

Upon its original mass-distribution in the mid-1980's, my life became a literal reality-TV show. In fact, as a wedding gift, perhaps, I received approximately 400 hours of VHS video tape chronicling my life. I have since transferred all 400 hours onto DVD for "easy viewing":

That was a psychological journey that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I firmly believe that God granted us a fallible and imperfect memory as a favor to us. In my mind, I was much cooler and wittier during the pre-game dinner with my varsity basketball game my sophomore year, and I distinctly remember being taller and better spoken that one time I came home late at 5am with some friends. The videos, or DVDs rather, point out quite the contrary, however. Fortunately, those, and countless other moments, are captured on film to set the record straight.

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Snippets of a child's life are treasured and valuable, but the human memory far exceeds the documentation of our entire life onto a handy contraption that once set atop the right shoulder, but now fits neatly into the palm of one's hand.

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By the way, in case you were wondering how in the world my mom captured any moments before the amazing invention of the camcorder, have no fear. She was a genius at taking "movies," which are silent films projected on to a screen. She would tote her movie camera along with a small tape recorder that would run simultaneously, so to accompany the movie with sound for all to enjoy.

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Exhibit B:

The Camera

If you were surprised by the volume of my home video library, I can't even begin to explain how many pictures my mom has snapped over the years. I believe there is literally a picture to represent every moment of my life. There were pictures at your typical picture moments, such as birthday parties and holidays. But there were also pictures of the not-so-typical moments such as every single meal in which a guest was present, or every single time we ate at a restaurant in which there was a menu, or doctors visits, or of the kid who pushed me down at school, or the string that entertained me during a Mariner's game, or even the first day of my period. Yes, that's right.

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Traumatized? Yes, I would say I was. But the picture moments that really chapped my hide, were the "re-created" moments. You know, those times where she missed the shot!! Heaven forbid! Those were the times when we'd have to re-stage the event in order to capture the moment as if it were first happening. Being a strong-willed child, I was particularly opposed to these times. Here's a prime example of a re-created moment in which I distinctly remember refusing to participate in. I'm not even left-handed:

As I recall, it took upwards of twenty minutes for my mom to get me back into that position which somewhat resembled the original scene, but we'd have to check the movie footage to be sure. See the tape recorder sitting next to me?
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As a result, I have found that in my adult life I have a bit of a phobia toward the camera or its kin the camcorder. It is very rare that you find me with a camera, let alone a camcorder. I have to purposely think about moments that I might enjoy capturing, otherwise I will be long gone without it. It is literally an extension of my mom's arm, therefore she is never caught without a photo-op, but I have turned out quite the opposite. Ben, who grew up with very few captured memories, balances me out a bit, for which I am grateful.

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So, as I peruse the beautiful images of my friends in blogland, I sometimes think that maybe I should be taking more pictures, or at least bringing my camera along "just in case" more often. But, alas, it is just not me, nor do I think it ever will be. Can you really blame me?

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In the stead, I will continue to enjoy your moments that are captured so wonderfully in lieu of my own. Thank you for sharing your talents. But if any of you would like to view some of my eighth grade cheer leading or maybe the time I walked home from school all by myself (I thought) or maybe the time I re-created finding an Easter egg, or perhaps........you get the point...just let me know! I'll hook you up with some prime footage.

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And I do hope you clicked to the links I supplied you with to enjoy the images of precious friends in blogland. You'll be glad you did.