Behold the Power Behind the Lens

Look through the lens of your camera, and what do you see? Pure magic.

A camera is an amazing tool that allows you to capture a moment before it becomes only a dim memory, forever lost. Magical, exciting, powerful, potentially eternal in its essence.

Anticipating the future can be both frightening and exciting, since we seldom know exactly what it holds for us. For various reasons, some people don't like to look back, but there are many who desire, crave and ultimately seek a connection to their past. Something concrete to validate their existence beyond dim memories.

If we're fortunate, our parents took (and kept readily available) many photographs of our childhood, strengthening our connection to the past and perhaps helping us to better define our future. As parents, we have the power to give our children (and perhaps, grandchildren) a special gift, more powerful than only our dimming memories. Photographs are more than memories...they bring back to our children their own lost moments in time.

We all lead busy lives. Many of us don't take the time to stop and enjoy a moment that would otherwise be lost. Time is endless, yet limited. Memories fade as time pushes us forever forward. A camera not only captures those special moments, it is probably the only way we can claim that slice of time as our own, validating its existence in more than just our memories.

I've always loved photography. I loved to look at old photographs, memorize faces, recall events that I'd have otherwise forgotten. I received my first camera, a Bell & Howell, as a graduation gift in 1972. Throughout the years I've owned many cameras, always searching for that "perfect camera" and learning much along the way.

I've recently purchased my Canon SX10 IS and have fallen in love with photography all over again. (Read my hub on my new Canon http://hubpages.com/hub/My-Canon-SX10-IS-Camera) It is an amazing piece of equipment, but for me it's more than just a camera. It's a magical (and of course, hi-tech) way to capture memories through my own vision and creativity.

I've been told by many people throughout my photographic obsession I have "a good eye" for photography. Possibly, but closer to the truth is I have a passion, an intense need to capture the moments in my life as well as the life that takes place continuously around me...a flower blowing in the breeze; a sailboat on the lake; fluffy clouds as they flit across the sky; a blazing sunset; a colorful bird; a bumblebee as it lands on a flower; the beautiful innocence of my grandchildren. I want people to see life as I see it, and my camera makes it possible.

I not only capture the moment, freezing it in time, I share the beauty of that moment with others. And that truly is magical.