By Judy Haughton-James
I do not know how many persons have had a similar experience but I have noticed that the brakes on picture taking often occurs with the passing of a loved one. Anyone visiting this site can see that my twin and I took a lot of pictures over the years. However my mom and I have been searching through our many albums and we can't find a picture of Janine and me in our Marymount High School uniforms. If my memory serves me right I did see one some time ago but where it is, only God knows!
I am here thinking that we did not take many pictures during those years as we lost our father in our early high school days. Since Janine's death getting my picture taken has been a real struggle as it is so difficult to see pictures without Janine. When I went to my Aunt Prilly's funeral back in March I took pictures of just about every relative there and did not ask anyone to take a picture of me with other relatives. Anyway my cousin Courtenay whom I was meeting for the first time came up to me and introduced herself and asked if she could have a picture taken of us. I had on my eyeglasses and forgot to take them off! Anyway they concealed how much I was crying.
Thanks to a wonderful cousin Brigette Lindo from New Jersey I am getting back into taking pictures even if I am not yet eager to have my picture taken these days. She sent me a digital camera last Christmas and with the help of the booklet and my cousin Molly Chung who visited me from Canada I have managed to get the hang of it. I still have a lot to learn but I am well on the way. By the way, Molly recently reminded me that this camera can also take videos! Now that is something else for me to learn to do. So far I have been taking pictures of my relatives who visit, surroundings, pets etc.
I remember that early in 2008 Janine and I said that it was about time that we got with it and bought a digital camera. She even wrote an early Christmas list and had a digital camera high on the list. Well, she died in October of that year so you know where that idea went, through the window.
I know that Janine would like me to continue taking pictures so I will always be armed with my digital camera to capture pictures. Actually some of the pictures on this Blog were taken with my new digital camera and the digital camera on one of my cell phones.
2 comments:
Judy, I haven't thought about the difficulty of having your pictures taken after losing a loved one. It's good to hear that you're returning to photography. I love taking pictures, too, and I love having my pictures taken. I have watched a Japanese drama about a girl who was dying from leukemia. Her boyfriend was devastated. The guy started taking pictures of the sky and gave it to the girl. The girl had all the pictures posted on her ceiling so she could look at them while lying on her bed. It was very sweet and moving. I really think photography is very powerful and can invoke strong emotions. Good luck with your photography. I wish you will be able to capture lots of wonderful pictures.
Hi cheerfulness,
It is always good to read your comments. Wow! What a touching story about the guy who took pictures and posted on his girlfriend's ceiling when she was ill and dying of leukaemia. I am so glad that Janine and I took a lot of pictures over the years. As the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words." I really love my new digital camera and I am in the mood to take pictures of so many things these days!:) In the meantime I will work at feeling good about having my picture taken again. Take care.
Post a Comment