Use the Camera You Have on You

Technology is changing.  New digital cameras offer some amazing and state-of-the-art capabilities.  Do we need to buy the latest and greatest?  Ann has a wonderful and up-to-date camera for her studio work and this is perfect for what she does.  I have a years-old digital camera that replaced my film camera.  It is great for vacations and outings, with digital zoom and video capabilities.  But, it isn’t what I find myself using when I choose to take a picture.  I suspect you are experiencing the same phenomenon. 

“The best camera you have is the one that is with you,” says Chase Jarvis, Camera Pro.  He goes on.  “Photography is becoming a huge part of our culture incidentally because the capture devices are getting so cheap and so available, and the opportunities and means by which we share that material is so much at our fingertips.”

Jarvis refers to a series of photos taken with your phone’s camera as a “great visual journal”.  He is excited about the artistic quality that can be achieved by a simple motion paired with pushing one single button.  He says that the convenience of his camera phone has him looking for pictures.  In this video,, he walks through the city and finds many interesting and, for him, inspiring shots. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buDa-m65RyA&feature=youtu.be

Perhaps more important, the stories we capture on our cameras are priceless.  “It’s not about megapixels or dynamic range or any of that stuff.  It is about moments and stories,” he says.  Take a look around you at the next event you attend, whether it is your child’s concert or ball game, or a family outing.  Everywhere people are using their camera phones to simply record a memory.  

Have fun and play around with the camera you have with you to figure out how you will best use it.  The key is, USE IT!  When you look back on the images you capture, it won’t matter how many pixels they are made up of, just that you have that picture, and that picture, and THAT picture. 

At JMC, we say it often and we’ll say it again… Memories Matter!  Keep on using the camera you have on you. 

Memories & Smiles... the Importance of Children Having Printed Photos

As mentioned in our last blog, we are thinking a lot about the benefits to children of having and holding printed photos as they grow up.

A website we have found offering much wisdom about this, as well as photo-related tips and useful links is “Pictures Matter” at http://photoimagenews.com/picturesmatter/

 

An excerpt:

“While the advent of digital cameras has resulted in people taking more pictures, fewer families are actually printing them for inclusion in photo albums or to frame for display. By exchanging photos via email and storing them on disks or computers, parents are actually jeopardizing the emotional well-being of children who need to see pictures of themselves as they grow to promote self-esteem and security,” said Dr. Kenneth Condrell, family, teen and child counselor

In reading the entire article, we learn that photos help with keeping mental memories intact for the child who holds and views them.  Families have stronger ties and tend to exhibit better emotional well-being when photos are printed and made available for regular viewing. 

We regularly host Girl Scout troops at JMC, showing and telling them about the importance of photographs, as well as a little about taking them and things you can do with them. The response from the girls, their leaders and their families is very positive.  We hope all children have an opportunity to be exposed to this type of information about photos.

Oh, and Dr. Condrell also warns about deleting digital images.  Read more in the article to find out why! 

We would love to hear about the images your family values and views over and over.  What makes for a “feel good” photo for you? 

We encourage you to preserve your photos and to print your favorites, and not just for grandma and grandpa, and not just to put away for future generations, but for today.  Remember the last time someone shared a photo with you – bet you smiled and perhaps even had some memories flow back of a fond time or a favorite friend.

Memories Matter! 

Jen at JMC

Living for Pictures and Keeping Pictures Alive

“She would live for his letters and he would live for her picture.”  

Jenna Bush Hager said this recently on the Today Show about her grandparents, Pres. George H. Bush and Barbara Bush, when they were much younger, and nowadays too.  Watch the video here:

 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46385984/ns/today-celebrates_valentines_day/t/jenna-bush-hager-how-my-grandparents-inspired-my-own-love-story/#.T06Jj4Gmqdw

She goes on… “Now, in the age of technology, many first proclaim their love via text and email, which has in many ways killed the handwritten note.”

The Bushes wrote love letters to one another in the early years of their relationship, and they continue to do so, over 60 years later.

Politics aside, I couldn’t help but think about how true this is of photos today.  The destiny of communication via text and email is so parallel to the destiny of images we capture on our digital cameras and phones.  What will we have to hold onto if all those thoughts, and all those images of special events – images that never became printed photos – drift away into nothingness?

Like the handwritten note, are we killing the printed photo in this new age of technology?

Recently on a trip to the local zoo I must have taken three dozen pictures in a two-hour time-span.  Why so many?  I can look at them later and delete the ones that aren’t “good” – that’s the beauty of digital photography!  But will I print the good ones?

My children will love holding and looking and photos of themselves in the Amazon Rain Forest with that curious yellow and black bird!  (Next blog will talk about the benefit to children of having printed photos as they grow up.  Stay tuned!)  I also have echoing in my head that my parents would like ANY photos of my children I’d be willing to share, as they live 1000 miles away.

JMC’s philosophy is this:  make sure to print your favorite photos.  With the quality of paper (and other media) used these days, photos last longer, and there are so many different ways to display them, on canvas, metal, tile, mugs, mouse pads – just about anything. 

The rest?  How about a photo book?  You can find tools online to make amazing books.  The company that makes them for us is reliable and produces a beautiful product.  Find out more at http://jmcpds.com/photobooks.html.  Even quicker, buy a photo-safe album at a craft or department store and slide those pictures in. 

Don’t forget to print a few to share with your relatives and friends. 

Finally, always make sure to organize and store in a safe place (like a CD) the “keepers” so that your children and grandchildren will have something to enjoy for years to come. 

Like George Bush, hold onto those pictures; keep them alive, hold them in your hand, and live for them.