Oh shoot - a story about taking pictures

My mother always had her camera. Always.

We have more albums at Mom's than books, and that's saying something if you know Judy. That's my mom, Judy. Red hair, bright clothes, big smile, always mischief nearby, and a camera. Even when she switched to her iPhone, the camera app is her most used.

Mom and me, Yellowstone NP, circa 1984

There's pictures of me and Dad, of course. Always looking at her. Her charge always to capture the memories of us. And that's what we do. We capture memories.

Memories

You see, long before humans had written language there was oral history, telling or singing stories of heroes, battles, beauty, and love. This was followed quickly by pictograms and hieroglyphics. It's only natural that we should love to capture memories as images and store them. It's embedded in our ethos.

Frogs, fungus, cats, coffee, and sunrises

I've recently rekindled my love for photography. Most of my pictures are from my phone and it drives Ryan a little nuts. We have a perfectly good Pentax DSR but I always forget it or find myself inspired to shoot something, somewhere in the moment. Yet, here I am almost always maxing out my storage space, taking pictures of flowers, trail fungus, water drops on berries, mountain ranges, ReeRun, the kids, and all the sunsets and sunrises.

So that's what this post is, an ode to taking pictures, taking pictures of yourself, your friends, your family, your home, your view. Doesn't matter. Take them all.

And take a few selfies, too.

Thank you, Mom.