10,000 photos later

It's probably quite obvious that I really love photos and photography. As a child, being able to use my parent's camera to take a quick snap shot was always exciting. I remember getting my first camera for Christmas and absolutely loving it. I was probably about 9 years old. I took photos of everything - animals at the zoo, family (I am sure they appreciated the up the nose + double chin shots from my vantage point), the neighbor's dog... you name it, I felt it deserved to be preserved for posterity.

My old ceramic teacher, the wise David Kirchner, once said, 'Potters don't get better by concentrating on one pot meticulously, but rather making as much as possible and honing their skills.' I guess I have taken that to heart.

We bought a Mac laptop last year in February and I have officially filled it with photos--10,000 of them. Yes, we have quite a nice itunes library as well that is also taking up some space. Now I am constantly getting messages about my hard drive being virtually full. While I love the idea of not having more stuff to take up space, it's such an effort to make sure files are backed up.

I've hit a snag in storing photos. We had a detachable hard drive, which decided to self-destruct last year. We're still not entirely sure of what all was lost. Stefan had all of his photos from his studies in the US on there, we had early trips when I would come to visit him... a complete nightmare.



Now I don't have too much faith in these hard drives, so I have had to resort to burning DVDs - which takes forever. Then I feel obligated to burning multiple copies, just in case something happens to one of them. I'm really paranoid about dumping photos off the computer, but I don't see many other options if I want it to function properly. It's almost comical - is technology down the road even going to be able to read a CD?

I was always hesitant about getting a digital camera. Sometimes I am such a purist, but I have grown to love digital photos... despite the fact my photos rest in the hands of the computer Gods and not as tangible objects from processed rolls of film.

I didn't have digital camera until 4 years ago. Stefan helped convince me, when I saw his super cute and tiny Sony Cybershot. I was no longer concerned about spending time in the dark room and printing my photos on archival fiber paper. My Canon Rebel now collects dust, while my portable and stylish Olympus Stylus Verve travels the world with me. (It even allowed me to take it underwater while in the Maldives - that was priceless enough!)

The idea of carrying my camera everywhere made me forgo my old ways and come over to the more modern side. I also appreciated being able to store photos in a central location, without a ton of boxes to take up more space.

I still have a soft place in my heart for old crafts and things that take time. I love the process and production, despite sometimes feeling impatient or frustrated. I like to think knowing how things work and spending time with them helps me to improve my skills.

I'm not sure that I'll take 10,000 more in 2008 - but hopefully there is reason to!