by Mark Burch

Created on: February 04, 2009

Photography is a reflection of who you are, what you see, and what your life is all about at the moment you press the shutter. It freezes that moment in time perfectly, and effortlessly. You know how you hear an old song on the radio, and it takes you back in time to a great memory, or a sad moment in your life? That's what photography does for so many people, including me. The passage of time is continuous and unrelenting, and photography stops that moment forever inside your camera. My children are only now turning 6, yet I look back at their baby pictures and I am immediately transported back to that moment. Holidays, birthdays, first beach trip, first bike, new car, anniversaries, the list goes on and on.

Try this little experiment, think back to your birthday 5 years ago, Where did you go? Who else was there? What did you get? What did you wear? Can't remember can you? Now find those pictures and take a look. Not only will you remember the answers to all the above questions, but you will probably remember more than you thought you could. The photographs stimulate your brain, and you can actually remember funny stories and comments that were made years ago. To me this is priceless, to see my children eating their first birthday cake, or looking at all my old cars that have come and gone. Not that photography is always for happy moments. I have some painful photos that were taken during my fathers funeral in 2006. It was the last time I would see the man that I thought was invincible as a child. Although I don't look at those photos too often, you could never get them away from me now.

Life is so busy, so complicated, that we forget the little things, the most important things, and photography helps us capture those times, and forever remember those fantastic times that we all would eventually forget. If you ask people what is the one thing they would save from their burning home, after their pets, it's the photo album. It's the one thing that connects us with our families, friends, children, and those who have already passed away. It's the past, the current, and the future of our lives, a personal journal of what we have accomplished in our short time on this earth in all it's photographic beauty.

So to summarize all of the above, I love photography because it does the one thing that is impossible to do. It captures my life and creates a moment in time that I can enjoy for a lifetime.

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