I have to admit, I am not much of a holiday kind of guy. To me, most holidays are days that I can’t get mail, deposit checks at my bank or get people to answer their phone when I need something.
But one thing I do like about holidays is the chance to make images that matter. To those of you with families, this is the time to show them that your gear investment can pay off in ways they’ll appreciate. Take lots of photos. Lots of em’. And make sure to take this chance to tell a story. Tell the story of your family with pictures. Pretend that you had to explain your family and its history to a stranger, but you couldn’t use any words – only pictures to do it. Telling the story with the camera will prove to be a powerful exercise that leaves you with lots of memories – and great pictures.
And while on the subject of memories, remember that one of the primary “jobs” of a photographer is to protect and preserve memories. They can be your memories, or someone else’s memories. Whatever the case, the photograph acts as a record. It serves to remind all who see it what was happening at that moment in time.
Lastly, moments in time are the real power behind photography. Photography is all about capturing that defining moment. You want to find that one look or expression that’s priceless.
My Thanksgiving tradition is to go make memories at Bosque del Apache. I’ll be eating turkey with Artie Morris and dozens of other photographers who come to celebrate this amazing migratory bird event here in New Mexico. Then, the next day – if not that evening, we’ll join more than 100 other photographers who make this annual trek to document the migration of the Snow Geese.
See you on the flight line.
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Scott Bourne
Latest posts by Scott Bourne (see all)
- Beginner’s Photography Tip: It’s Important To Select Your Focus Point - September 24, 2016
- How To Be A Photofocus Photographer Of The Day - September 19, 2016
- A Year With The Platypod Pro - September 19, 2016
Don’t forget, these are memories of the past that we will use to share in the future, so don’t forget to put yourself in front of lens too. We collectively as photographers mostly hate being photographed, but on holidays, with family, its important to make sure when you go through the albums in 10 years, you see yourself being there too! Plus your (possible) kids, grandkids, great grandkids would much love to see you in those photos from way back when during the holidays.
So remember, give up to camera to someone, even if it has to be on automatic, with the on-camera flash, make sure to document your existence during these holiday time!
Happy thanksgiving!
(or other holiday event!)
Wow! Thanks for such a nice post, Scott. You paint such a nice picture, in words, of all that Holidays should be.
Thank you Scott and everyone at TWIP. I’m thankful for all you guys provide. It is a bit of Americana wile I live abroad these past 13 months. I want to tell you money has been tight and to use all my existing equipment (camera, ipod, computer) plus free content from you guys has been so helpful. Thank you. I’m having a bunch of locals over (you many know them as foreigners) and they are all so excited and interested in this thing we call Thanksgiving. I’ll be sure to have the camera close by and active.
Great advice, My Grandfather died a few days ago so I’m taking this post to heart and wishing I was more trigger happy with the camera on family events.
Happy Thanksgiving to Scott, Alex, Fred, Steve, Ron, Aaron and the gang at TWIP and all my fellow TWIPpers…may you all have a safe and happy holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving? That was last month.
Oh wait … I’m in Canada.
Scott, Alex, Steve, Ron, Aaron and everyone else at TWIP, big thanks for your superb podcast/blog and all things digital.
James
Freiburg, Germany
I remembered the camera gear, my good dSLR and all of its meager collection of lenses, but forgot the memory cards. I have several, but all the spares that are usually in the bag eventually migrated out. I ended up using my Canon HF100 camcorder, which actually takes some good photos, so I didn’t miss out on photos, just some of the quality I would get with my better gear.