I love photography. For me, when I see the images I have taken come up on screen, it’s like Christmas. Did I get the image that I wanted? Is it something I will cherish, or is it another pair of socks from Grandma? Not that there is anything wrong with socks from Grandma. In most cases, it’s those mundane yet ever so practical images that we remember most. They help us remember things as they really were.

That being said, I am always looking for the gems, those fleeting moments that occur once. Capture that and I feel like I am on top of the world. It’s amazing that photographers can spend their whole life capturing these moments and in the end, it only amounts to a few hours. Yet the images taken represent so much more than that.

One of the reasons I bought my camera was because I had a class at school. I was tired of waiting for my turn on the ‘school’ camera so I convinced Juli that I needed one to be successful in that class. That was a long hard fought battle but I finally passed that measure through the appropriations committee. I quickly learned that I could justify my camera purchase by saving some money on family pictures. I mean really, you get all dressed up, go to a mall somewhere and have some teenager who doesn’t care about you, snap a few photos in front of a cheesy starry night backdrop and then pay lots of money for the privilege? Really? No thanks.

Fast-forward a few years and it has become so much more. John Loengard once said,

“Perishability in a photograph is important in a picture. If a photograph looks perishable we say, Gee, I’m glad I have that moment.”

That’s how I feel about the following moment. Hailey received a cute hat and scarf for Christmas. Unfortunately she will never wear it. It’s too much sensory input for her to handle. Joslin on the other hand put it right on and proceeded to act like a little princess. Ever since seeing that, I knew that there was a picture that needed to be captured. Once we got back from Christmas vacation, I decided to get this picture I had in my head out and shared. The other night we sat down for a session with Joslin and the following ‘perishable’ moment occurred.

I hope it brings a smile to your face as it did mine.

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You can see a larger version of this photo and more from this session by visiting my newly redesigned photoblog at: 47Syndrome

A funny thing happened to me this morning, I woke up fat and old. Now you might be of the opinion that age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese or bottle of whiskey and to a certain extent that might be true. But right now, in this instant, it hurts. It really hurts. Mainly because my sisters have been sending really mean text messages about how old I am today.

I guess turn about is fair play. I tease them incessantly on their birthdays. My favorite is when I keep saying the same thing over and over but each time I raise my voice a little louder until I am screaming. That’s a classic and even though they curse at me by the time the joke is over, I know they are laughing. Of course that laughing could be dementia and senility on their part or mine.

Speaking of jokes, have you heard the one about the little old man that sat on this porch when an elderly lady walked up and asked, “I couldn’t help notice how happy you looked. What is your secret for such a long happy life?”

The little old man replied, “Well I drink 1500 ounces of Dr. Pepper a day, I never exercise and I eat most of my meals at Burger King or McDonalds.”
Shocked, the little old woman replied, “That’s amazing! How old are you?”

“26”

Umm, I forgot where I was going with this……
…..
…..

Oh yeah. That could be described as me. I’m probably half a happy meal away from an early exit. Gotta change that and change that soon.

Another thing I gotta changes is being more diligent in writing on this blog. Hopefully you haven’t noticed that the last meaningful post was back in October of last year! Holy Cow! And by the way, I work for the church and in no certain terms it was made very clear to me that there is no such thing as a holy cow. Anyways, the last meaningful post was quite some time ago. What happened during Thanksgiving, our Christmas trip to Arizona, or all the renovations we have done on the house? Well, all I can say is that I have nothing. Hopefully good records were kept in Heaven so that we an all look back and reminisce. A lot has happened and lots of time has passed and I don’t really remember all that occurred. And the things I do remember I don’t feel like writing down. Remember I am a crotchety old man now. Suffice it to say, life is good. We are healthy and looking forward to this year. Here’s to a happy and fun 2009!

Or 2010, depending on if you remember what year it is!

(Now where did I place that 44oz Dr. Pepper?)