My nine-year-old and I were leaving a restaurant the other evening when he stopped to check out a display of firefighter gear: bright yellow coats, shiny red hats and glossy black boots.
I reached for my camera.
"Do you want me to take your picture in front of all the firefighter gear? That way, you'll have a photo to remember our dinner out tonight."
"No, thanks. This isn't the kind of memory that's supposed to be in a photo. It's the kind that's supposed to be kept in your head."
I've been mulling over his comment ever since — about photo memories versus in-your-head memories — and I really think he's on to something.
Sometimes I wonder if digital photography has made our generation a bit snap-happy — a little too eager to reach for the camera because it's so convenient and inexpensive to do so. It's easy to get so caught up in photographing special moments that you miss out on the moment behind that photo — a fabulous day at the beach, a family reunion or your baby's first steps.
And then there are the events for which cameras were invented: pageants, sporting events and graduations. Photo-obsessed parents have become such a problem at some events that some schools and clubs have taken to hiring videographers and photographers to produce "official" DVDs and photographs so that they can prevent overly enthusiastic parent-photographers from upstaging their own kids.
So how do you decide when to click and when to capture the moment? When do you pull out your camera and go for that perfect shot and when do you leave it packed away in its case, preferring the pictures you are carrying around in your head?
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