Taking Pictures is Making Memories

"Now we shoot whatever we see
Night or day in color photography
Candid shots are barrels of fun
Taking pictures by the light of the sun
Smile, hon, look at the camera
Hold your breath and say cheese
And with every single shot we take, we are making memories
Making memories, making memories
Taking pictures is making memories"

I was joking with Kathy last week that I needed a new camera. I had been looking through pictures at flickr.com and marveling at some of the incredible pictures of Disneyland, which I found by doing a search for "tags" that people used to label and identify their pictures. The most impressive were ones in a set posted by disneymike. While I'm sure that his photography skills would shine through even when using a pinhole camera, I was convinced that an upgrade to a digital SLR from my current Nikon Coolpix 5700 would help me produce better shots.

But being the cheapskate that I am, I wasn't ready to invest a couple of thousand dollars in new photography equipment when I had just bought my camera three years ago and it still pretty much serves my needs. However, a trip to Disneyland just days after telling Kathy of my wanting a new camera, there was suddenly a need for a new one. My trusty Nikon decided to give out.

I turned it on to shoot a picture of the Main Street Railroad Station from an angle that I haven't had the opportunity to shoot from when I noticed some strange coloring and blurring through the viewfinder. I thought that perhaps my lens needed cleaning so I wiped it with a soft cloth. Much better! That did the trick. Or so I thought. After pressing and releasing the shutter, my quick view of the picture that I just took revealed lines through the image.

I didn't know what was wrong. I turned it off and on. I changed the battery. I changed the media card. Nothing did the trick. Pictures had a strong color tint, were blurred, had lines through them and even came out totally black. The look of concern on Kathy's face nearly broke my heart as she knew how much I liked taking pictures at Disneyland.

As much as I tried not to let it affect our visit, I was really bummed about not being able to take pictures. We had an enjoyable day but I knew there'd be no new Wallpapers of the Week or Photos of the Day coming out of this trip. A ride through Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and a cold Dole Whip would be the comforts of the day.

Luckily, this happened on "just another day" to the park. The last time I used my camera was for the dedication ceremony of the Ward Kimball engine and Lilly Belle coach. Not being able to shoot that event would have been much worse. Likewise, I could have been on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tokyo Disneyland or Disneyland Paris when this happened. (I joked to Kathy that if it happened in Japan though, I may have wound up with a really good camera bought locally.) Or I could have needed the camera for a family function. And, ultimately, I knew I could buy another camera. In the grand scheme of things, this was little more than a bump in the road.

I've been taking pictures at Disneyland for years now. When I was a teenager, I had a Kodak disc camera that was my very own. For my 18th birthday, I received from my mom a 35mm point-and-shoot Kodak camera, which has truly been my old reliable. We still own it and it still produces amazing quality pictures. With the introduction of digital cameras, I bought a 3 megapixel, point-and-shoot Toshiba digital camera before replacing it my Nikon. The great thing about digital cameras is that I can take as many pictures as I want and I don't have to worry about the cost of printing them. I am free to take whatever pictures I want, whenever I'm inspired. And for me, what often inspires me most are shots of Disneyland.

While I often take pictures of things that look good to me, the reality is that I am making memories of Disneyland at one moment in time. My photo albums truly become history books as the park continues to change and evolve. I love sitting down at home with Kathy and looking through our scrapbooks and remembering the good times that we've shared together. Seeing pictures from our trip to Walt Disney World makes me want to hop on a plane and get back there again.

Perhaps this is why I was so bummed about not having a working camera with me last Saturday. My memory is no longer as sharp as it once was and recollections fade over time. Whether it was my first or my 300th time to Disneyland, I wanted to be able to remember it long after I visited. Photography is one of the few art forms that I practice anymore and I wanted to be inspired to take pictures. I love how the plants and flowers change from time to time. I love the way the sun shines on castles and rocket ships, how clouds can alter shadows of flying elephants or enhance plumes of steam coming from the engines of the railroad. Taking pictures is indeed making memories!

After getting home, I searched for problems with my particular camera and found a service advisory for it online. Apparently, Nikon will fix my camera free of charge. The downside is that I have to find time to send it in and have to wait for its return. Hopefully, I get it back fast enough that I don't scratch my itch and buy a new one!