#21stcenturyproblems

First off, if you don't have the app "Timehop," you should get it. It is an app that shows you your social media updates/posts on this date from the previous years. Through this app, I have been able to fulfill my love for nostalgia daily. I have also seen that some facebook updates were dumb, some were so cryptic that I don't even know what I was talking about and that I used to blog more. Out of all of these realizations, the one I care about the most is the blogging. I really wish I could blog more. I am constantly thinking of blog ideas, but rarely have a free moment to get my words out. I would love a blogger app where I could use Siri. Then you all would be blog-barded!!!

What's the focus of my mind lately? Pictures. More specifically, "What should I do with all of my digital images I take or are taken for me?"

Growing up, things were so much more simple. I feel like people say that all of the time and I usually do not agree. I think it is all a matter of perspective and it would be naive to think that what we are experiencing in our current lives trumps what people experienced in the past.

What I do feel was more simple was going on vacation, to birthday parties, events or any other reason you may have a camera around and just taking a few shots. When I was younger, there was no screen on the back to show you a preview of your photo. You had so much more mystery because the moment was captured on film which had to be developed in a lab. Knowing that you only had a certain number of images you could capture made you more selective in what you photographed.

Once the roll was full I couldn't wait to get it developed. We could almost always get our pictures back the next day or the day after. Picking up pictures was so exciting! Did the picture I REALLY want turn out okay? What other surprises might I find that I wasn't expecting? After looking through the printed pictures, they were put into photo albums or memory boxes where they could be pulled out to review at any time. This brings me to my current struggle.

With new technology comes amazing advancements in photography. Not only can you immediately see the image you just captured, you can delete and redo it and even post it to social media. This is something I love and hate. If you are reading this, then you probably found the link on my facebook page...which means you are a friend of mine on facebook....which means you are aware that I post pictures almost daily. I LOVE PICTURES. I also am extremely biased and think I have adorable children and that people would enjoy seeing the cute things they do. More importantly, I like to document so I can go back later to reminisce and remember the cuteness.

What is awesome is how quickly I can go to my facebook page and go back a few years and see what was happening. It is nice because all of my photo albums are in one place. What I hate is that they are just there for me. Realistically, who is going to go to my page and rummage through my albums? People will look at what is currently posted, but wont go back and spend time looking at pictures from a year or more ago. (most likely) And that isn't really even my point, just saying...

When I got Tegan's pictures from my sister, I realized that her work should be displayed more than just on facebook. She put so much time into capturing such a special day for me, and I wanted something more tangible. This led me to realize that with all of the pictures I have since Calebs birth, most are just resting on the internet, on my phone or computer. This is so different than when I was growing up and pictures were in photo albums you could hold in your hands.

Am I going to print every picture I take? No. Would I like to? Of course. I took it for a reason and likely posted it for a reason. The problem is, with the easy availability of photography, there are just too many pictures to take the time to print them all. I have a good amount of pictures printed and in my home, but eventually I will run out of wall space.

To remedy this problem I have decided to create yearly photobooks. Have you seen these? We have an awesome wedding one and I made one for *most* of Caleb's first year (I wanted them as Xmas presents and his birthday is in January). Caleb's first year is pretty well documented through the scrapbook my B.F.F. (and now sister-in-law) made for me, so I will start making a photo book starting with Calebs birthday this year and ending with Christmas this year. These wont be Christmas presents...they are just for me (and mike and the kids) so there is no pressure to get them finished before Christmas.

I made a 20 page "Tegan Birth Story" last night an will go back and make one for Caleb as well. (There is a $10 groupon). The book will start with my maternity photos, then pre labor/labor and then the newborn shoot. THis was the best way I could think of to take the pictures I love and make them more meaningful. I hope this helps anyone who has the same struggle.