Monday, September 19, 2011

Photographs and memories...

I have been sitting off and on all day long looking at photographs...originally looking for something for inspiration to blog about. Looking for photos from home. Instead I kept pausing at all the kitty photos...
especially the ones of Puss Puss and Cougar II....I have never seen any two cats closer than those two were.
They were always piled up together, whether in playing or in rest and relaxation.

I lost Cougar just a bit back...and I still really miss him. So it has been bittersweet seeing all the photos of him. It also made me wonder if Puss Puss misses him at all...when Bubbie and Mama Cat came to live with us, their closeness seemed to come to a halt....we would just occasionally catches glimpses of them being like they were the first few months we had only them. But only on rare occasions.

I wonder if anyone else feels as I do about photography...I know since digital cameras I take a gazillion pictures compared to what I took with film. Just because of economical reasons. Whether I blogged or not, I would still want to go on photography trips every chance I got. I feel compelled to capture things...things as they are now as well as to capture things that are about to pass away. I want to leave a record of our time.

The one thing I have trouble doing is capturing people in an everyday environment. That is the one thing I really need to focus on. A hundred years from now, I wonder if our blogs will still be here...and will people be looking at our photographs with the same rapt attention I look at old photos now.

14 comments:

  1. Awe, look at those faces, I'm sorry about the loss of Cougar...I have so many photos but rarely do I go back and look at them, I should tho. I have a hard time as well photographing people in everyday life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never looked at it that way--that we are taking photos of things that won't be here at some point. But, it's a great thought and I shall remember that.
    I usually bring out the photos in the winter. They sure are a great way to keep memories "fresh".

    I fought getting a digital camera for years......I have no idea why. It's great being able to see whether or not the picture "took" right away, rather than waiting for prints and seeing that you didn't get the shot. (not to mention having to PAY for the bad shot!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love cats. I'm sorry for your loss also. I don't have many photos of all of my childhood. I sure would love to be able to "see" some of my memories. I wonder the same thing about our blog photos. I am hopeful that my nieces/nephews will enjoy reading about some of the treasures that my mom left to me that I will be leaving for them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just posted about our visit on my blog and was testing my link to yours :-) I just love your cats. I always wonder what cats think about things, too. When the brother of my 2 sister cats died, I wondered if they noticed or cared or had any feeling about it. I missed him a lot, but did they?? I have wondered about our blogs, too. Who knows how much things like this will change between now and when we die. Probably something newer than computers! I have tried for years to move my dad's old movies of the family and the history in them, first to VCR and then to DVD. I feel something was lost each time and it makes me sad to see them losing their original quality, even though they are only imporant to me and my sisters. You tell so many good stories of your life. You need to record them in a book and not just in your blog! We know a way of life that isn't there any more and it is our duty to tell the younger generations if they care at all about how things used to be. There will always be those who care and those who don't.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How cute are those kittens. I'm sorry you lost Cougar.
    I love to look through old photograph albums, but I now also love taking pictures with a digital camera. It is so much easier.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There are a few people who do go right up to people and ask and are often turned down. Others are embarrassed about it but relent and allow it. Still others use long zoom lenses and take the portraits from a distance.

    I know that those who do ask approach with the camera in a bag or over the shoulder. They strike up a conversation with the subject and then finally explain what it is for, for example a picture a day of a stranger usually is enough to satisfy them. Also hand them a business card with your name and phone number or something like a sample picture on it.

    The ones I know do it that way.

    Your cat photos are very nice.

    I have thousands of photos and often sit down and go through several hundred at a time.

    I have about 6,000 photos of Coopers Hawks. Now, when I see one and get the old rush to go out and take its picture, I stop and think about how many I already have.

    ReplyDelete
  7. cute kitties! sorry to hear about your loss. i am all about the photo's capturing every single moment

    ReplyDelete
  8. What sweet pictures, I especially like the first one! Yes, I feel the same way as you. Will Blogger still be here many years from now? I just love going out and driving around looking for pictures, I am hooked on it! I am so sorry that your cat passed away, I hope your other cat isn't too lonely. The same thing just happened to our son's family.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fine kitten shots which are great reminders of those days with Cougar. I like the idea of our photos being a potential heritage one day. I don't get many people pictures either…it's something to think about. People shots would seem to have much greater potential for interest long into the future than my typical subjects.

    ReplyDelete
  10. they look so peaceful together a match.....

    Gill

    ReplyDelete
  11. The kitties are just too cute... I've wondered the same thing about our pics being seen way off in the future... I sure hope people look at them, cuz we've put time, effort & love into taking these pics - hope they like them, too! =)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Rose, I love your kitty pictures. We have a cat that thinks he's a human. Talking about pictures....I love the digital convenience of making pictures and like you I make more now than I ever have. But I also miss the old way of doing it. You take the film to have it developed and then put the pictures in an album. I miss flipping through an album.. Grant you, I have some of mine printed, but not near all of them. I have put the rest of them on CD"S but that still isn't the same as turning through an album. Do you feel this way?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm sorry about Cougar. It's so very sad. I just love those kitty faces and tummies.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog...I hope you like it enough to take the time to comment. I enjoy comments so much, and always try to make a return visit.