Word Count: 652

Send Article To Friend

Print/Use Article

Contact Billy Adams

---

The Next Thousand Words

by Billy Adams  
9/10/2012 / Family

When you come across a photo and someone you know is in the picture, emotions and conversations that took place during that period of time are brought back to memory. I am not a photographer, but I think that certain cameras today have the ability to capture an image in 1/8000th of a second. The time it takes to snap the picture is far removed from the actual life of that photo.

Generations admire particular photos and in the absence of documented narration, those individuals are given the privilege of coming up with what they imagine a person was thinking while sitting for a photo. Remember viewing old pictures that looked as if they were from the civil war era? Those individuals seemed to look sad in those photos. The reason they were sad may have been due to the relationship between the camera delay and the affect on the clarity of the photo if that person moved. Sitting still with a relaxed look on their face may have been the most comfortable position to hold. The civil war was a horrible time in American history and people living during that period might not have smiled as much as they do today. I read somewhere that the wet plate process started around the time of the civil war. This process allowed for a 3 second photo capture. Not bad for an 1830s or 1840s photographer.

I have probably seen thousands of images in my lifetime and the pictures that I have enjoyed the most were the pictures that seemed to tell a story. While looking at pictures of American landscapes, you can image yourself in the Grand Canyon riding a burro down a dusty trail or walking on the sandy beaches in Hawaii. Possibly, the picture was taken of your children. Wow, how time flies when your kids are having fun. It seemed like only yesterday that you took those pictures of your son or daughter. Then you come across pictures of people that you loved dearly that are no longer with you. Wow, it seemed like yesterday that he or she was here. What I wouldn't give to be able to live that 1/8000th of a second again.

If you make a living as a photographer, I commend you for your line of work. A camera to me is only a tool (a very cool tool, but still just a tool). Anyone can buy a camera, but only those people that are true visually acute designers and dreamers can take a simple landscape or group of people and make the most of those 1000 words. Those are the true photographers. The pictures they capture are the closest you and I will ever come to time travel. Pictures can take us back to times in our lives that have meaning and to people that shaped that moment. I have taken several pictures in my lifetime that developed only two words "bad picture". In some cases, only one word materialized "Thumb". When I look back at my mom's picture, there are truly no words. I am speechless. When the words eventually come out, I can't imagine how many there will be.

I embedded a picture of my mom into this article. I wasn't there when the picture was taken and I honestly don't know when the picture was captured. I was given this picture from a family member around the time my mom passed away. I don't know what my mom was thinking at the time nor am I sure who took this picture, but if that camera had only taken one snapshot in its lifetime, the 1/8000th of a second that it took to finalize the photo created a lifetime of words and memories that only that picture could have captured. With all of the pictures that will be taken in my lifetime, I wonder what the next 1000 words will bring.

Billy Adams is a creative director for a small software development company located in Texas. His passion is writing short stories as well as commentaries on Christian topics and politics. You can view all of Billy's creative writing postings at www.contentservant.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Billy Adams

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

---

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer