On my Google Homepage I have a couple of WikiHow tips each day. Some of them are entertaining, some are informative, and some are downright weird. 
And then there are some that are hilarious...
Today was one of the funny ones. How to Get Up and Start Taking Photos. It is a good read... and could be applied to WAY more things than just taking pictures. But let's talk about pictures for a minute...
For those that don't know, I was a professional photographer for 10 years. I worked in commercial photography, as well as some editorial (magazine) work. Advertising, Annual Reports, catalog, brochures... I personally specialized in studio work, especially with large format cameras (4x5 was my favorite). I also assisted other photographers, and one of my best clients was a location shooter that shot primarily in 35mm. He actually made me really enjoy location photography.
I followed that up with several years as a camera store manager. I had a high volume store with a portrait studio, equipment sales and a very busy lab. In that role, I counseled consumers on how to get better photos and often how to do it with what they already had (sidenote... As a camera store manager, I MUCH preferred that people would spend their money buying and processing film rather than buying new equipment... WAY higher margin on the processing).
And I sucked at taking pictures...
Let me rephrase that... I didn't take a lot of pictures. My wife shot more pictures than I did during most of the year. Sure, I would drag out the camera and pop through film like nobody's business when I was in the mood... I came back from vacation with a hundred rolls of shot film on occasion. But I wasn't shooting the snapshots that marked our lives every day. She was doing that. She was shooting a roll a week. When she got a digital camera, she started shooting more.
But the tide turned...
I got a digital camera (didn't have to borrow hers anymore) and a fairly good camera phone. I started shooting more pics at my listings and around them. And then I joined Flickr... and FaceBook. And I started sharing. Family and friends are tuning in to my stream. I'm shooting pics of the boys and the family and uploading them all but live.
It started with my first camera phone... My mother in VA was looking at pictures of her first grandchild 3 minutes after he was born in GA. But it really picked up in the last year (FaceBook, Flickr and sharing made me do it). 
Now I carry a camera most of the time and a camera phone ALL of the time. I use them to take notes and record the little moments. I shoot pictures of items in stores to tell my wife the price or remember where I saw something. I shot a picture of the license plate of the camper we borrowed last weekend in order to have that information available when we registered at the campground. I even use it to record how parts fit for the Jeepster restoration I never seem to have the money for... But the real fun is shooting the pics of the kids when my wife is in the office. The three of us are at home and we shoot pictures and load them to FaceBook so she can go see them. We shoot video clips to share, too...
It is just SO easy. The cameras are simple. The computer interface is fast. Uploading to sharing sites is a snap. And there are folks that want to see the pictures... and it is just SO convenient to share pictures with the family and friends flung far and wide... instantly.
And it gives me hundreds of pictures for my blogs... And I don't have to worry about copyright issues with the pics I use... So, turn off the computer... get outside... carry a camera... and see what is going on around you. It isn't just the big things, it is the little things that just happen that provide the great memories.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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