I’ve talked before about my love of photography starting at a very early age. So young, I really can’t remember a time that it wasn’t part of my life. The flame was ignited with my Dad’s camera; I just never got over the endless fascination of being able to freeze a moment in time and hold it in your hands. Especially today – in this fast-paced world – it is just too delicious. Often, with the click of my shutter I have captured a mere millisecond, sometimes witnessing something that wasn’t apparent even when avidly watching through my lens at the time.
As a child, photography was – at the same time compelling – totally frustrating at times. I was often chastised for ‘wasting’ film, coupled with the agonising wait of having to finish the roll of film, and then send it off for processing. The anticipation of finally receiving the pack of prints – only marred by revealing many a mistake along the way. Of course, this was long after the event had happened – so no second chances to get the shot right! It at least taught me the value of patience, and taking as much care as possible to get a good shot!
I have tried to explain this to my own children, who have been brought into the world in this digital age; where so many of us carry a reasonably powerful camera in our pockets, on our smartphones. So much so, it’s a relatively rare sight to see people pull out an actual camera (as opposed to their phone) these days. So far, they do show a love of photography and have often have helped by modelling for me (as regulars to my photography will know)! RaFa’s usual cry after posing for a photo is “Can I see?” followed by the instant gratification of being able to see whether the shot looks good… Secure in the knowledge that we can repeat the exercise there & then to get it right. I am sure most of today’s kids have no idea how a film camera worked – or that they even existed. The idea that you didn’t get to see the photograph for days, weeks – or in my case – sometimes months!
Back home at my Mum’s house this Summer, I rummaged in my old room to find my first Canon SLR trusty (film) camera – a present for my 21st Birthday from Mum & Dad. I was thrilled with it for many years (even though it was second-hand) and served me well through the photography modules of my BA in Graphic Design. I wiled away many an hour in the University dark-rooms honing my processing & printing craft. I showed it to RaFa, who were enthralled to hold a “real camera” – so much so I wished I’d been more prepared and bought a roll of film (next time?). They danced around taking photos of each other, and everything in the garden – delighting in the satisfying ‘clunk’ of the old shutter, and carefully winding the ‘film’ on each time.
I remembered how many years I’d had a love of photography, and what I felt for my film camera… I can still evoke those heady dark room chemical smells… magical times! But honestly, the digital age is so much fun! I relish being able to experiment and push my learning without ‘wasting film’… and don’t get me started on how much I love my Canon 5D Mkiii and processing in the digital age (hello iMac, hello Adobe Lightroom)! It would be good to go back to try film once again, for old time’s sake… But I love my inner digital-geek, she wins out every time.
I hope that I will pass on at least some of my love of photography, skills and enthusiasm to RaFa. Whether I do or not, there is always their childhood photographs – I document these precious years in the most beautiful way I can.
Thank you for reading… I’ll leave you with some photos of our time, dancing in the golden light with my old Canon…
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And just a little effect for fun (I love my Adobe Lightroom)…
Childhood is so fleeting, and truly “the days are long, but the years are short”…! Let’s get talking to capture your family memories and freeze your own special moments in time…
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Hello, my name is Victoria and I am a lifestyle family photographer based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. For me, photography is an essential way to preserve priceless memories and freeze moments in life. Time is all too fleeting and before we know it, the years pass by and we look back and wonder where the time went. We can’t stop time, but maybe – if I had a super power – that is what I’d wish for. Our best chance is to document our lives so we have a window into our past that we can visit whenever we like. I find so much joy in using my skills to create priceless memories for others. It challenges my mind and breathes energy into my soul. I celebrate freezing those moments to capture not only the big picture, but also the beautiful details and time-capsule minutiae, to celebrate the love and connections within family and kinship.
