Months back, I decided to inventory many pictures on this tome of knowledge called a blog. For the unaware, I ran a trial in the 2017 time period where I wrote a post daily on another site – an exercise to force habitual writing. I came up with this original idea called, The Daily Thought. Amazing creativity, I know, but the process was hard. When I shut it down and merged the posts to this site, I went back and reviewed. Some of these snippets turned out while others I demoted to the garbage bin.
However, I recently realized the quick and dirty dailies making the cut also had a similar problem with the photography. Some good. Most bad. But I never curtailed the pictures.
As I reviewed the old headliners, I used photos from a creative commons site, but this methodology proved to be a mismatch. Again, this is a blog, which uses pictures taken by me in most cases. To rectify the discrepancy, I deleted many and started the arduous task of recompiling and taking anew. I also cleaned up some poor spelling in some of these posts. Nothing perfect here, that’s the point. I’m still unfinished with this undertaking, but the process is fairly easy. If I wrote an article about a song or album, I’d open the photos application on my phone, start a search, and abracadabra – almost like magic – I’d have a photo to choose from.
Take the following from an iPhone:
However, I also found a problem in this process. If I had visited New York or Washington DC, and knew that I had to the core of being, some pictures had gone missing. I blame this on a poor customer service experience with Apple migrating my phone once upon a time–two years of photos lost. Apple and Google are great but the throwaway convenience can be problematic if you don’t curtail the bad, clean up the good, and file said treasures safely in place somewhere.
In olden times, I shot with a Canon, and I’ve recently pulled it out of retirement. Yes, old technology still has a purpose – these pictures rarely become lost. But there were a few shots I didn’t have using either method. So, I leveraged another source. The family photo albums remain special. And, after some prodding, my parents provided shots of Mount Vernon, the Supreme Court, and the White House. I’m not a political junkie, but I do pay attention to what folks in DC do with my money. When I started photoshopping these pictures together, I noticed a trend. Film technology was different. One might use a Kodak, Canon, or Nikon, send the film off for development, and a week later could peruse the stack. Due to expense, many families carried one walk-away technology piece.
So, what is missing?
Yes, I realized in all of these pictures my dad did not make a single appearance. On Father’s Day, we often banter about the traits of what makes a good dad. Unconditional love. Good listener. Protector. Yet, it can be the small actions that you look back on years later that carry impact. I have a quote on my desk, “Enjoy the little things in life, for someday you will realize they were the big things.” And taking me to play golf instead of killing me after that fourth-quarter grade card in the 6th grade …
So, here is to my old man on Father’s Day. The man behind the camera helped me be my best self. Thanks for all you do.
Notes:
- Each picture was taken by David Bradley, the man behind the camera.
- Had an inquiry into my current camera. I’ve upgraded the Canon Rebel base multiple times, but the lenses stand the test of time. My favorite is a pancake lens. No zoom. Point. Click.
- Note, there is nothing wrong with the photos apps, Google and Apple. But having a backup is important. Editing too.
- And yes, some fashion comes back around. I still wear the striped calf socks and run in them with pride.
