Saturday, July 14, 2012

Documenting your life

I’ve always had a camera in my hands. Back in the day it was a film camera or a Polaroid. Some of my favorite photos are of my children, nephews and nieces, shot with a Polaroid camera. Hipstamatic comes close to the same experience these days, but with digital photos we tend to file and forget. The experience is not the same. I’m not likely to come across a box of old Hipstamatics while cleaning out the closet.

SeanYoungI came across some Poloroids taken on the set of Blade Runner by actress Sean Young recently (thank you Reddit). Her photos are exactly what I’m writing about. She turned her camera on herself and created a unique set of images that pegs her to a time and place she can now only recall in her memories. I assume the photos serve the same purpose for her as they do for me. Namely, who is that guy leaning over my shoulder? What can I say… I need visual aids. Also… I had forgotten how beautiful Sean Young was in her youth. I tend to think of her as the bad detective in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.

I use my iPhone in place of my old trusty Polaroid camera these days. At last check I had taken over a thousand photos in the last four months. Here is one of my most recent photos taken at a recent wedding (from my Tumblr feed).

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I had left my Nikon gear at home so that I could enjoy the moment with my family. I used my iPhone to capture the beauty and feel of the wedding so that I can remember it 30 years from now.

Polaroid cameras have been updated for the digital age, but it is not the same thing.