Ok, so not really, but maybe just a tiny bit?
One of the common activities of parents, at least throughout all of my early childhood, was the creation and assembly of photo albums as a method of documenting the early life of a child (even as a baby). The trope certainly is common enough in television and movies – the child brings a prospective spouse to meet a parent and one of the first things that happens is the parent drags out the potentially embarrassing photos of their child to show them off.
Even I have a collection of photo albums in my basement – filled with images of me as a baby and young child. While I haven’t looked through them … well, ever … I am reasonably certain some portion of my first year of existence was documented on approximately a weekly basis.
I would speculate most Gen-Xers can say the same, at the very least.
Granted, the technology was different. Back then, it would typically be a Kodak Instamatic™ camera with an insertable / replaceable film cartridge which would then be taken to a nearby store (typically a pharmacy) to be handed off so pictures could be developed.
Theoretically, with the advent of much more modern equipment (being able to take much higher quality pictures with a device almost everyone – myself included – carries with them everywhere), there should be a mass proliferation of such pictures.
Except … somewhere along the way, the translation of that image into a physical version seems to have been significantly degraded if not generally lost almost entirely.
Personal Failings
I’ve, admittedlly, always been pretty bad at making sure to capture (photographically) important “stuff”. I just kind of … forget … about doing so. Sure, I look back – in my memories – and can wish I had captured it, but … it just didn’t happen at the time.
I tend to be too much in the moment to care about capturing the moment. And I doubt I’ll ever really understand the ability of others to be able to … “step back”, as it were, to be able to spend the time to take a picture.
Consequently, both of my sons are safe from the potential torment of me showing off embarrassing images of them as babies to their eventual girlfriends and potential spouses. Simply put – those images do not exist; they are lost to time.
Even for my own personal “adventures”, I have (regretably) few captured moments (in physical form).
Personal History
For my Bar Mitzvah (Jewish celebration upon turning 13 – for boys), my grandmother’s siblings gifted me an Olympus OM-1N 35mm SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) camera. I loved that camera – indeed, I still have it, squirreled away somewhere. And it came with me on three important (to me) trips.
Post-College Graduation Business Trip to Europe
During my last year at college, I was working part-time at a bank in lower New York City. Due to a once-in-several-lifetimes happenstance of chance, a literal week after I graduated from college, I was on a plane to Frankfurt, West Germany (yes, it was long enough ago that it was still West Germany), for what was supposed to be a two-week business trip (plus a planned two week vacation while I was there). It morphed into a 9-½week business trip (still plus the two week vacation time). This meant I was in Europe (mainly West Germany) for just about an entire summer.
Of course I was taking pictures … but not of anything really significant, as I think back on it.
And then, for my vacation time, I had prepared in advance and purchased (in the US) a 14-day Eurailpass. This was a magical pass which, for non-Europeans, allowed coach class travel on just about any train line in almost all of Western Europe. Just hop on a train, show the pass and my passport (proving I was not a citizen of Europe) and I was good to go. I could then hop off at any station I chose.
During my vacation, I had ample opportunity to take pictures galore! Rather than allowing you to speculate on what I did take pictures of, I will say my primary subject was … train station signs. Specifically, the train station signs of the towns and cities I visited. I have those photographs … somewhere. I do not believe I’ve ever looked at them and certainly have never shown them to anyone.
Please don’t ask what possibly possessed me to think this was a good idea, but it was what I did back when I was 19.
And, A Year, Later – Business Trip to Tokyo, Japan
Less than a year later, while still working for the same bank, I was on another plane to Tokyo. I’m not even sure I took any pictures while I was on that trip, but I do know the camera went with me.
The Flying Vacation
In the early 1990s, I earned a pilot’s license (PP–ASEL). In retrospect, while I’m proud of the accomplishment, I never really made use of it. Or, perhaps, better to say I made significant use of it exactly one (1) time!
I took a “flying vacation”, renting a friend’s plane to do so. I planned on two weeks for my vacation and made use of most of it. The general itinerary was to fly from my then “home” airport (MMU – Morristown Municipal Airport) to Williamsburg, Virginia. Then down to New Orleans, Louisiana (which was where I spent the majority of my time). From there, I flew up to Chicago, Illinois, because there had been the initial round of “threats” to close Meigs Field, and I wanted to be able to log having landed and taken off there. And, then, finally, back home to MMU. So, roughly a triangle course.
I know I have some pictures from New Orleans and at least a few from Williamsburg (Colonial Williamsburg, specifically), although I couldn’t tell you were they are. There is one picture which I, unfortunately, know I don’t have, which I am still very regretful about.
I had stayed overnight in Chicago, and the day I arrived, the weather was overcast and visibility was limited – maybe 10-20 miles at best. However, the next day … was perfectly clear. Visibility was, like … 50 miles-plus. You could see for forever. I departed from the runway northward. Since I was heading generally south-ish, that meant I was both climbing and turning back east of the airport, over Lake Michigan.
Looking out of the passenger window (primary pilot is in the left seat), I had an absolutely amazing view of the city of Chicago. I wanted to capture that. However, I had put my camera bag in the back seat – along with my clothing bag, etc (all of my flight gear was up front with me so I could access it easily). I tried to reach back to grab the bag, but I would need to take my hands off the controls – not a good idea while I’m in the middle of a maneuver. And, to keep my hand on the controls would mean I’d be aggressively banking to the right … while I was still barely 1,000 feet above the water – not recommended at all.
So – that image, too, remains only in my memory.
Strange Birthday Idea
My only other notable (for me, at least) capturing of physical photographs was for my 42nd birthday. I had a crazy idea … which worked! I got a disposable camera (cheap at a drug store) and attached an index card with a colorful ribbon (like to decorate a present). On the card, I had written the following:
On the front:
This camera is here on purpose – take a picture!
On the back:
Take a picture of anything you like. Really!
I’m hoping that after I collect the camera and have the pictures developed, I’ll have pictures that will give me a smile when I see them.
So – take a picture or two. Feel free to think “Happy Birthday!” while you do so. Or anything else … All I ask is that you leave the camera here so other people can use it and so I can retrieve it later.
Thank you, Ben (yes, I’m a guy)
I went into New York City and put the camera down somewhere (like on a bench or elsewhere obvious) and walked away from it. Every time I would return to pick it up, the camera was still there and had some additional pictures taken.
So, basically – IT WORKED!!! It was an utterly crazy idea, but it still worked.
Yes, I’ve got the images and mostly they’re of people smiling and being goofy – which was fine by me.
The Bottom Line?
There is much of my sons’ lives which I do not have “documented” in any fashion. And, compared with my own childhood, effectively nothing. I don’t think I’m a “bad parent” for having … neglected? … photographing every week of their respective first year of life, but I certainly do … regret … that all of those “firsts” are not recorded – if only for them to look back at and go “Noooo!!! That can’t have been me!”
