The wonder of photography

This is not a skilful nor beautiful shot, but I would like to commemorate the art and science of photography (on World Photography Day, why not?) for the crystallisation of special moments, the memories, the record (daily or otherwise) of our lives - and those who have gone before - that it gives us.

There are some precious pictures in this little collage, including one of few I have of my son, John, who sadly died in infancy and whose birthday it is today. My sister who was lost to me for the first 40+ years of my life except in childhood pictures (we are now reunited), a younger me posing, and some family photos taken in New Brighton not so long after the war.

In this little collection I have included a book by my writer friend Ali Bacon, in which she offers us a beautifully written account of certain moments (skilfully captured, like the calotypes they made) in the lives of pioneer photographers, Robert Adams and David Octavius Hill in 19th century Edinburgh. How exciting it must have been to create portraits without painting them, for the first time!

I don't consider myself a photographer and yet photography has always been part of my life. I spent a lot of time in a darkroom in my early career, using a giant reprographic camera and developing photomechanical transfers of type or graphics using stinky chemicals. 

Socially I was a pain in the butt, always carrying a (rather large SLR) camera, snapping my friends haphazardly (sometimes mischievously!). I have a fantastic record of our mis-spent youth though, and occasionally share a carefully curated selection on Facebook, which causes much amusement!

Then of course there are the thousands and thousands of photos of my daughters from babyhood to adulthood.... thankfully most of those beyond 2002 are DIGITAL! 

And now I have (thanks to Evolybab) discovered the joy of Blipfoto, and I love the challenge of capturing an image to mark a day, whether it's a flower or a fly, a plane, train or piece of sky. Or as today, just a simple composition of special things, and a few words. I love also that we can share these little pieces of our days with each other. Thanks for bearing with me if you have stuck with this ramble to the end! Happy World Photography Day!