If You Give a Mom a Camera

This is the face of a little girl who is sick of having her picture taken.

The funny thing is – it’s probably my favorite photo of Kelsey.  Ever.  And it was a complete accident.

***Warning!!! Nostalgia Alert!!***

I still remember exactly the day I took it.  It was in the late afternoon on one of those rare days in March in Oklahoma when the wind wasn’t blowing out of the north at 25 mph.  And even with the slight chill in the air, the bright sunshine kept it just warm enough that you didn’t need a coat.  I had taken Kelsey down to the neighborhood park and of course, like any self-respecting scrapbooker I took my camera (an Olympus 35mm film point and shoot) to document our little adventure.

After about 30 minutes of taking pictures and watching Kelsey play, it was time to head back to the house.  Before we left though I asked Kelsey if she’d stand stand still for a minute so that I could take her picture of her “smiling pretty”.  But the problem was that she was d.o.n.e. with me pointing and shooting.  So after a couple of overly-cheesy shots, I finally told her, “Okay fine.  This time don’t smile.”  That was the last picture on the roll of film so we walked back to the house in the chilly evening air.

It was a few days later when I finally got around to dropping my film off at the grocery store and another day or so before I picked up my pictures.  As soon as I got back into the car I tore open the envelope.  And when I saw that last photo – that face – my heart just melted right there in the front seat of the car.

That photo went straight out of the camera and straight to my heart.

Technically speaking, it’s not that great of photo (terrible focus, big scratch down the middle).  It was well before I had a digital camera so there was no previewing it on the back of the camera first. Plus I had no idea about aperture or depth of focus. And there was no Photoshop or other post-processing.  But you know, I don’t care. I love the golden light, the wisps of hair, her rosy cheeks, that sassy expression.

This photo totally captures Kelsey at seven years old.

Over the years I probably taken thousands of pictures of my daughter.   I love all of them of course, but some of them really capture her personality (in my option) and stand out to me as truly representative of her age at that time.  Here’s a few of my favorites.

~Eight

~Ten

~Thirteen

~Eighteen

And finally, the most recent installment.

~Nineteen

After looking through all these photos, I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what kind of camera or equipment I have. Or what kind of photo-processing software I use.  Or even how many classes I take to become a better photographer.  Deep down I am just a mom with a camera.  Trying my best to capture memories.

And maybe trying to find a way of slowing time, even if it is just for a minute.

Peace, Kelly