I recently backed up my computer, kind of serendipitoulsy, as it ended up dying a few weeks later and I realized I have over 8,000 photos.

That includes the past ten years or so, that I’ve had a digital camera, and that’s a whole lot of memories. I don’t know about you, but I’m that annoying person that always has the camera. Family events, nights out with friends, vacations… I have so many photos, all documenting the amazing journey of my life.

I love to look back at all of them, and try to remember that day. Some photos instantly transport me to that time (like my wedding) and I can even remember posing for that frame; other times I don’t even remember taking the photo, or the people in it, and that’s always fun, too.

But with today’s instant gratification, seeing a photo seconds after we take it, does it take away from the magic of a photo?

It used to be so exciting when I was little and my mom would get a bunch of rolls of film developed. You never knew what was going to be on there, and it was always a blast ripping open that clumsily sealed envelope to see what was inside. Maybe it was summer and you were expecting your beach vacation pics, when all of a sudden it’s Christmas again. You couldn’t just take those last two Christmas photos and get them developed, you had to use the whole roll, and sometimes that took months! I miss those days.

Even with the disposable cameras, you had no idea if you got the shot you wanted, or captured something you didn’t even notice. Now, we know everything in an instant. Kind of boring, if you ask me. At my wedding, six years ago, we did the disposable cameras on the table. I know that’s old school now, since everyone just emails and uploads to Facebook in real-time, but I guess it was kind of a while ago, and that was still “in.” My husband and I had a blast looking at what people captured, and it gave us time to sit there and just laugh and look together. Plus, we actually had them printed out! Most of the time, our photos just sit on our devices. We don’t hold them and really look at them. It’s more of a pain to get them printed now. And we usually only do if we are making a book, or putting it in a frame. That kind of stinks!

I’m an old soul, would have done better in a different time period for sure, and I sometimes hate how technology has taken these little pleasures away from us.

Everyone is a photographer these days, too. Our phones and cameras are so well-equipped to take a good shot, we don’t even have to try. And with apps like Instagram, we can do just about whatever we want to make our photos look professional! I miss the days when you had to actually go somewhere to get a family picture taken, not just turn your phone around and do it yourself.

I believe there is an art to photography, and a little bit of magic, too. A photographer just has an eye for things that sometimes the average person cannot see. They capture moments. Let’s not forget about this special group of people.

A photo can instantly take our breath away, make us smile, make us cry, give us inspiration…photos are cherished. We carry them in our wallet so we can look at our kids, we keep them on our desks to remind us of our life away from work, we look at them and reminisce with friends. Photos are a huge part of most of our lives. I just wish sometimes it was still like the old days.

I miss the magic of photos…

Do you like the new/anybody can do it/instant way?