I Turn My Camera On

Like many of my friends and fellow scrapbookers, I take a lot of photos of my family. I feel confident in stating that I definitely take more pictures than the average person. Ballpark numbers? I cant be sure, but if I had to guess I'd say Ive amassed 10s of thousands of images. Going digital back in 2002 empowered me to click that shutter button liberally and often. I have not stopped since. It makes me kind of proud that I have created a comprehensive photographic history of our family thus far, but in the majority of our pictures I am not present. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? In my family, I am the picture taker and like many other family "picture takers," I prefer to be stuck behind the lens instead of in front of it. It is a problem.

I grew up with a mother who also preferred to be behind the camera lens. Thanks to her, I have many quality photos documenting my pre- adult life. However, just like me with my own family, my mother is absent in 99.9% of my childhood photos. This makes me sad. You see, my mom was very involved in my young life. She was the gas that made our family car run, and yet I have no images of her as I remember her. Likewise, I have maybe 2 pictures of her and me together when I was a kid. I am certain that, like me, my mom wasnt really comfortable seeing her image in our photos, but because of her choice to not be in them, I have very few images of my mom.

I do not want to repeat what happened in my childhood photos and I have tried throughout the years to hand the camera over to others during holidays and special occasions. I gotta be honest: its not easy for me. Im not sure if I have a problem giving up control of how the images will turn out or if Im just afraid to see my image in the photos. Is it a vanity thing or is it a control thing? Im sure its both - vanity being more of an issue than control. However, I am happy to say that lately, I have found a way to include me in the pictures without the fear of giving up control. Ive been using my timer. In the past two months, I have used that timer a dozen or more times and in almost every instance Im totally cool with the images.

This past weekend at Joshua Tree, I used the timer for a couple group pictures and I got great results. Yipeee! Towards the end of our stay, I got the most magical picture using the timer. I wanted to share it with you. Its not a technically perfect photo. The "noise" is substantial and the color is a little off, but I squealed with delight when I saw it on my monitor.

Not only did I get a picture with the boys, Matt, me and Dama Shan together (in itself a HUGE feat) but I also got a shot of us by firelight. That, my friend, is what we call lightening striking twice. Oooooooh yeaaaaaah!

I totally love this image and guess what: Im in it. Mission accomplished!

Happy Thursday.