Preserved Memories

By Allan Olson

With the click of button, or for many these days, the touch of a screen, an instant memory is created.

Whether it’s a simple point-and-shoot camera, a cell phone or a photo session at a photographer’s studio, memories are created, and to some extent, preserved forever.

My first camera was a Kodak 110 with a flash bulb on top of the camera. I remember shooting many photos with that camera; how many really turned out would be near impossible to say. Like a fellow columnist described in a hometown paper, sending the film off to the REX Film Company in Duluth and waiting for its return to see the finished product always provided a bit of excitement. My love of photography, similar to hers, also pushed me along on my current career path.

From the instamatic I graduated (literally), and purchased my first 35mm film camera (with some of those graduation funds) for just over $100. The camera featured auto-rewind and advance, and even had a built-in flash; again many more photos were taken and processed through a box-store. From that I migrated up to a used 35mm SLR with extra lenses, a bag, filters and more, for a nominal price of about $250. An experience even more thrilling to a shutterbug such as myself was being able to process the film in a darkroom, something I learned in college. I can remember going through all the steps, laying the print paper in the tray of developer and watching the image slowly come to life.

The first image I remember seeing was of several cords of wood waiting to be stacked on the back of my parents’ barn. The image was striking, except I didn’t frame the shot right and so the peak of the barn was cut-off. While I was disappointed in the image itself, it was still a thrill to see its development.

Of course, technology has changed greatly in the years since. I purchased a point-and-shoot digital camera, and then made a significant move to a SLR digital camera. Digitals give you the instant gratification of seeing the image you’ve captured, and between work and family I have already shot well over 40,000 images with this camera.

This past weekend and over the course of the last two weeks, we compiled a photo album for my parents’ 40^th anniversary. My wife handled the layout and design, and compiled the majority of photos, calling my siblings for some additional pictures they had taken over the years. The collection was assembled, and while there ultimately were a couple of mistakes (on our end), it turned out to be a great source of memories pulled together and preserved for my parents.

The book featured family photos dating back to our pre-teen years and up to a couple of years ago. We also dedicated two pages to each grandchild (10 in all) in various stages of life. The remainder of the book was largely filled with pages of random photos of the grandkids with their grandparents, parents or aunts/uncles.

We limited the 40^th anniversary “party” to a small family affair – my three brothers, respective spouses or guests, along with our children. The group numbered 21, ranging in age from the youngest at a couple of months old up to my parents.

During the dinner, I snapped a few pictures with my wife’s point-and-shoot camera, not wanting to take my better, bulkier model out at dinner. Annoyed with it after several photos, I passed it on to Nikolai. He too, became annoyed. “It’s too slow,” he complained.

I’ve come to the realization that I’m raising “camera snobs,” as everyone of our four children have no issue picking up my camera or another like it and start snapping photos at a rate that makes me cringe, realizing that I will likely have to view (and delete) 100 shots of the same image.

A couple of hours prior to writing this column, I picked up one of my spare cameras to see if any photos have been taken. I checked the counter; it read 344. I started viewing them. The files were random pictures of the TV, the dog, the floor, and the kids. One image was of Abigail sitting on her bed in pajamas, giving herself “the bunny ears.” Other images were equally entertaining, and one of these days, I will take time to download them on the computer to view them all.

Returning to my parents – I set about my mission, looking for preserved memories of childhood trips. Four hours later, nearly 200 photos scanned, and I never did find the ones I was looking for. However, I did find some great memories of times gone by. I found photos of family gatherings with my grandparents and cousins, and many snapshots of my brothers and me. Along with that I found photos of my cousins and nieces that I’ve longed since tagged.

A niece has asked if I believe in karma, saying I should be afraid. I’m not; I shared photos of myself that were equally bad.

My wife reminded my nieces that I do this lovingly, and she is not responsible for any of the images (absolving herself of wrongdoing). My mother, who enjoyed the preserved memories on Saturday, didn’t necessarily approve of some photos of her that I put online, either. I thought, “No worries; just wait until I go through her mom’s photo albums.”

There is something to be cherished about a trip down memory lane through photos. It’s also a good – but scary – way to watch yourself, your family and your children literally age before your eyes.

As for my parents, I hope for them to have another 40 years together.

After the dinner, we preserved yet another memory, taking a large group photo of all 21 of us, along with a photo of my brothers and I with our parents, and one of just our parents.

Remember – snap a photo, preserve a memory and don’t be afraid to let your children take a photo or two, they might surprise you. I know I’ve been surprised more than once.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week. Remember – watch out for school buses on the road. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.