Imagine you’re at some form of family event. You’re just trying to enjoy the moment and take everything in. Then all of a sudden, Aunt Tina brings out her phone and makes you and your family members pose and smile. It doesn’t take too much time, so you go back to your activities. It may be annoying, but what if Aunt Tina had good intentions?
Photography is defined as the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. Throughout history, people have photographed everything, from family to buildings to nature to outer space. One specific example would be photographs of the Great Depression. When you think back to learning about it in middle school, do you think of a specific fact about it or the pictures you were shown in class? Who can forget Dorothea Lange’s famous picture of the migrant mother looking distressed, holding her children, and thinking of what would come next? That one image spoke volumes about the time period.
That’s what photography does. It’s meant to capture moments in time to show the people of the future how the past was–not only about monumental events but things like weddings and senior photos.
Mrs. Reinkensmeyer, our school librarian, is the woman behind many of our school photos. She has dedicated her time and effort to producing stunning pictures of student athletes and many school events. Mrs. Reinkensmeyer doesn’t even get paid for photographing the school events, even though she has had many late nights editing photos she’s taken at these functions. She has a very precise schedule to make sure she doesn’t get behind on getting photos out. If she doesn’t follow it, she could fall behind, and it would pile up. Mrs. Reinkensmeyer compared it to letting your homework build up over time.
She first got introduced to photography through her dad, who gave her a camera in middle school, marking the beginning of her journey. She didn’t start photographing for other people until her grandkids arrived, as she wanted to help her daughters capture memories while also not losing time for themselves. Mrs. Reinkensmeyer stated, “Photography is very important because it documents memories and things that happen.” She recalls a memory of a trip to Alaska and states that the pictures helped jog her memory about specific things that happened during her trip. Sometimes the job can be dangerous. In the last home football playoff game, Mrs. Reinkensmeyer got plowed into by a Farmington player while trying to photograph the night’s events.
Photography is complex, full of variety, and capable of limitless storytelling and emotion. Photography is everywhere today, whether it be in a classroom or on a social media platform. It is a complex art that allows people to see how a situation felt in that moment, without having to live it. We may not know half the things we do now without photography. If the people of the past couldn’t take pictures of the events they lived in, we wouldn’t be able to experience it with them.
Without the pictures, the world would be unconnected. Sure, you could describe something you saw, but you wouldn’t be able to see what happened. Try to describe a beautiful sunset to your friend and see if they can envision the same thing you did. It would be incredibly difficult because we are different people. But with photography, we can see the same accurate picture.
So the next time your Aunt Tina takes out the camera, give your biggest smile and best pose. You never know what you’ll forget in the future, and it’s best to have something to remember it by.
