Day 13--- Photographs and Memories

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Parents and Sis, Pre-Me!

Photographs have been around for well over 100 years. They help document history, remind  us of family, friends, places we've visited, how we want something done, the colors of or placement of things... History... ah, that is the stuff I'm talking about. We have pictures of the Civil War, President Lincoln, Buildings and bridges, homes and gardens, simple folk, fancy dresses...
I love to take photos.

Looks out of a Bond movie!

My mother took tons of pictures when we were young. Most of the time they were great pictures. She has tons of pictures from when she was young, most of them are great! Matter of fact, I don't remember seeing any that were bad. She had an old Brownie camera that she started out with. Later on she had other cameras, I am sure most of them were Kodak. One Instamatic camera that she had was so cute and took terrific pictures.

Distant relatives in a town that is now abandoned

My Aunt and her beau

Most of the pictures of us when I was growing up were black and white. I suppose they were the cheapest film you could get, and I still love that format. I still take pictures and use the black and white option. But the clear color shots that were occasionally thrown in the mix are great. I had forgotten the red corduroy pants. Or that the house was done in creams and that seafoamish green that has come back in style... or that my brother was sooo cool. Ah, he would have been cool even in black and white!

Biggar, Scotland Corn Exchange

Without pictures, we would still remember our family and friends... but would those memories be so strong? Sight plays so much of a role in your memories...the part of your brain that is in charge of storing our emotional memory is also in charge of processing our senses.{1} Now that is a big thing.If you look at a picture, you have that emotional memory, not just a cognizance of the  face or the place or the color, but that you have emotions tied to that picture. So, to a blind person, they have to make up for that loss... Do their emotional ties differ from a sighted person? I'm going to find out if there have been studies done on that subject.

The River Eamont and Brougham Castle

So we take pictures.

I love to take photos of colors and buildings, fields and flowers. I always think that I'll paint that field when I get home... and sometimes I do, but usually the photos don't come out very clear or I lose the desire to paint them or... more than not... I don't have time.
I have had a few people call me asking if I would take photos for them...I've photographed kids, pre-dance.. prom stuff... and I got pretty good at it... but I am far from professional. I am not high tech, I am a throw back to an earlier era... nah, I do have a digital camera.
 I like still life, the photos of my family, the pictures of buildings... and that is how i would keep it. Most of the photos I take come out blurry... and I never know it until I get home and put them on the computer and blow them up... I think they are great shots... until I can see them on a larger scale!!! Then there is the lighting... Glare is such a problem, for the pictures and for my eyes... hard to see in bright light...
Meridith Bernard of    Meridith Bernard Photography offers this information: when taking a picture of people (something I need to work on!)  You need a 'catchlight' in the subject's  eyes.  So positioning them in a way t some that there is filtered light to their side  will yield best results or something to reflect the light back into their face if they are lit from behind... . Softness is what you are looking for, I suppose, not glaring lights...

The Blob

Now, another problem is that I have a tendency to see what I see through the view finder, and think that it is good. My head is crooked or maybe my eyes? and I don't realize that they are... because to me, that is how I see... but when I take that photo, it seems that it comes out crooked, or I see half of what I wanted to photograph... like the "Biggar Corn Exhange building. I thought I had the whole building in the sights... but obviously... not so much...All I can say is... isn't it wonderful that we have cameras now that you don't have to waste time and money with pictures that are trash material? Really, digital cameras are such a blessing. The ability to take hundreds of photos without spending anything on film or developing... wow! amazing!

Forth Bridge

If there is something on the lens... I don't see it. I have to take off my glasses to be able to see in the viewfinder of the camera. I do love the large viewing screen that some cameras have but my Cannon has the small view finder that you put your eye to and line up the little boxes... which should help me to align the camera correctly... but... I am far sighted now, and it's difficult to see anything with the other problems in my eyes. So, I think if I want to keep using a camera... it might be time to invest in another type. 
I guess to sum it up,  it is a matter of taking time, not getting excited and wanting to snap picture after picture, and making sure I back up a bit, steady the camera, and use good lighting... It would probably help to use a tripod with a level in it. Many times, it is hard to do that, simply because it is hard to carry a tripod all the time... I just try to look at the overall picture. If it looks level, and it looks in focus... it might be. I can try it out. Sometimes I think everything is right but I get it larger on the computer... and it is all wonky... But sometimes... they turn out lovely!

Firth of Forth at Portobello at Dusk

Portobello at dusk

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***Visit Meridith's page and see some  of her work, very professional. While you are at it, visit her "Pen" page and read her blog on the 31 Days Writing Challenge.
both pages are extremely interesting. This is the link for the 31 Days blog 31 Days of Living Like I'm Dying Blog. Please visit and read!

1...Piergiorgio Strata,1,2, Bibiana Scelfo1, Benedetto Sacchetti1,2:Involvement of cerebellum in emotional behavior p. 8 paragraph 3