📸 Photographs Down Memory Lane

Image Credit: Rodolfo Clix

Recently I pulled out my stored photo albums to try to put them in order so that it doesn’t look like I am suffering from a disorder! Turning the pages, seeing the faces of people who I grew up with, family members who are no longer with us, and snapshots from vacations and special events make me whip out my box of tissues and get lost in my emotions.

After I graduated from high school I took a course in commercial graphics at our local technical college. I actually loved developing the film in the darkroom, even though it could have been a chemical disaster if I wasn’t careful.

While I embrace technology, I simply am not a fan of using my smartphone as a camera all the time, although it is convenient. After a nightmare a few years ago while having a technician help me transfer my data from my old phone to my new one, guess what didn’t transfer? My pictures. It was supposed to have been easy access and a simple transfer from “The Cloud” but I don’t know where that “Cloud” went with my pictures! UGH!

I love the feel of my actual digital and 35mm cameras so that I can process the pictures, put them in my designated photo album, pull them out, and look at them later to reminisce whenever I want to. I guess I can get easily annoyed, scrolling through a never-ending gallery of pictures I’ve taken on my “SMARTphone,” just to find the one I’m looking for. Kodak, Polaroid, and Fuji, I miss y’all! 📸

The Photograph

capturing the stillness of a pose so deep
what story does a picture tell
how many words is it really worth?

what emotions are exchanged at a glance
the essence of a sentiment frozen in a moment
the heartbeat and smile of a love so pure?

will the photo emit the sweet innocence of life
a shout with excitement or quiet calm
or echo the hidden agony of bondage endured?

the photographs behind plastic sleeves
a canvas of still life that seizes my attention
I laugh, I cry, I frown, I remember

glances with wandering eyes, closed lids, or eyes focused
still life, which becomes a snapshot of the past not hidden
the shutter images through a camera lens it casts.

©2015 Kym Gordon Moore

Minnie Riperton (1947-1979) – Mother of actress and comedian Maya Rudolph, and music engineer Marc Rudolph. She could certainly take octaves to a different level than anyone I heard back then and now, a five-octave vocal range to be exact. She died from breast cancer the same year this record was released.

52 thoughts on “📸 Photographs Down Memory Lane”

  1. Love the poem and the song, Miz Kym. I lost cellphone pictures a few summers ago when my cellphone fell out of my back pocket and landed in about 1/8 inch of water. I thought the cellphone was safe, but over the next few days, the phone quit working. While I tried to save the pictures to the cloud, the phone’s integrity faded fast and the tech was only able to save a few on the sim card. When I was deployed as volunteer recreation specialist in Hungary as part of the Bosnia peacekeeping mission. I took dozens of photos with a new camera. I wrote the names of the people in the pictures on the back of each photo. When I check those pictures a few months ago, the ink had disappeared off the photos for some mysterious reason so now I can only guess at half of the names. Boo hoo.

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  2. Beautiful poem Kym. “will the photo emit the sweet innocence of life
    a shout with excitement or quiet calm
    or echo the hidden agony of bondage endured?” A great question that I ask myself often about my own work. Am I getting to the rawness or am I hiding behind a lens?

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  7. A printed photo brings out so much more than just the scene. That seems to be lacking in our cellphones. Or maybe they’re just not old enough yet. 😊 Beautiful poem of these treasured items. Maggie

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  8. Your post and poem hit an emotional mark for all of us, Lady Kym. It is amazing how much one photo can trigger emotions and memories. I do enjoy your thoughts, writing, and most especially, you, dear friend. Happy Monday to you.

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  9. Aww Kym ❤️
    This is such a lovely post
    Loved your poem too 🤗
    Looking back at photographs does stir emotions🙄
    I prefer my smartphone tbh for taking photographs
    Though I swap betwen my phone and camera when on holiday 😉

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  12. Oh my dear Miz Patsy Watsy, you are always so on point. Girl, I feel ya about those “lost in space” photos. I swear that Cloud faded fast in the sunset or landed somewhere on Mars. 😝 Let me say, how incredibly awesome it was that you volunteered for a peacekeeping mission in Hungary. What don’t you do??? 😲

    Trust me, these “lost in space” smartphone photos have taught me a lesson. I cringe when I think about them, but I ain’t stressin’ over it! Too many more pictures to take! 🤣📸🥂 Cheers ladybug!

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  13. Thanks so much Brian. I am so elated that those words resonated with you my dear friend. 🙏🏼 I think as creatives we are always questioning our work and purpose behind the lens. 📸 But honey, when we step out from behind it, ain’t no stoppin’ us! No way! 🙆🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♂️🙆🏼‍♂️

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  14. Oh my dear Wynne, I truly appreciate your thought-provoking words of insight. I was looking at photos in my numerous photo albums of my parents and other family member who passed away and pictures I took in high school and college. Those were moments that I treasure because of the memories they invoked! I appreciate you chiming in my friend. 🥰💖📸

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  16. Christopher, I concur my friend. 🙏🏼 Sitting down and turning each page in a photo album is so tranquil and emotional. The gallery on the computer and smartphones just don’t give me the same sentimental vibe. 🤗📸😘

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  17. Oh my dear Maggie, thank you so much my friend. Being a documentarian with photos from your various travels, you understand what it would feel like if all of those photos from the amazing places you visited were lost in some “Cloud” far, far away! 📸 How could you recover from something like that? 😲🤔😱 I appreciate your kind words my friend. Thank you.

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  18. My dear Mary, I am delighted that my poem and message resonated with you my friend. 🙏🏼 You are so very appreciated and I am honored by your presence and friendship. May the rest of your week be a FANtabulous one! 🌞💖🥰

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  19. Thanks so much my dear Maggie for your kind words. I can understand the convenience of the camera on our Smartphone, which is why I use it, but my really important events I try to capture on one of my cameras. I just simply love the feel of them in my hands. Plus, I feel “important!” 🤣📸😂 Cheers my dear. 😍🥂🙆🏼‍♀️

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  20. Oh my goodness Rosaliene, it is. There is something about thumbing through the pages of those albums, reminiscing about those old photos, and the moments they captured that is so different from thumbing through a Smartphone. I embrace these tender moments. Thanks so much my sistah friend. 🤗🦋🥰💖😘

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  21. Old? You? NEVER!!! Maybe not traveling to Hungary, but you got more left in ya girlfriend than any of us could imagine! OLD? What are you 95 or something? 😱😜😲 Girl pleeezzze! 🤣😍😂 I appreciate you! 🤗🦋😘

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  24. Developing film in a darkroom is fun, and toxic smelling, yes. I enjoyed that once upon a time ago, too. It is exciting to watch the image begin to emerge. Love that! Love your poem and reflection, too. You’ve highlighted many wonderful memories and sweet emotions, that require tissues, yes. Photos, either in a box or an album, are priceless keepsakes. Really love the vintage ones. 💖 Thank you for this beautiful post, Kymmy. 🙏🏻🤗

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  26. Wow! Wow! Wow! It’s a wonderful post! My dear friend Kym agree with you cameras have
    some special things, are desgined to capture photos, soul, moments for tressure.
    Actual phones are part of our lifes or we have our life inside the phone?
    Thank’s for share it and invite us for relfection. Have a lovely, cozy and relaxing evening.
    Abrazote mi amiga! Cheers!

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  27. I keep going over and over old pictures and through old albums, I digitized a bunch of my dad’s old super 8 home movies (OMG!)…I just watched a bit by an expert on how to sort, throw out and keep and save what’s special…and I’m with you with camera vs phone…phone is okay for random, by my camera is a camera…the thing is though, analog made us think a but more at what we took pictures of, now not so much

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  33. Oh my goodness Elvira my friend, thanks so much for your observation and insight. Your words mean so much to me and I appreciate your kindness as always. May you have a wonderful and relaxing evening my Queen of Erotic Romance and Mystery! 😍📸😘🥂😊🦋🛁🎶😁💐💄

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  41. We are experiencing such a mix of emotions when we go down memory line Kym. It’s why I love photo albums and I keep doing them year after year, from camera and phone – sometimes it’s easier!

    Great poem and fantastic song – what a voice!!!

    Stay well💕

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  42. Memories on film. Now that is a great memory. Dark room developing. Digital took away all the fun! Great post and Poem Kym.

    I transfer all my photos from my phone to my computer. 500gb of storage, now is 2/3 full!! No cloud for me. It can all disappear in a heartbeat!

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  43. Oh my dear Marie thank you so much. I have been missing interacting with you. With WP removing people due to their algorithms and limited views, it can be so frustrating. I appreciate you chiming in on the photo albums. Holding that actual print in your hand is so rewarding. Enjoy the rest of your week!

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  44. Honey, I concur. I learned my lesson about procrastinating when transferring and printing my photos from my phone. I just love my old cameras. It’s something about the look and feel of them in your hands! 😍📸😄

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  46. Waiting to use up the film. Waiting a week for your photos to be developed. Picking them up – to find they really weren’t that good. And all those dodgy accidental shots of feet!! Hahahahaaa. Good times!

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  47. WOW Dwight. I guess I simply love the nostalgia of flipping through an album, especially when I am trying to step away from my phone and computer for a while. There’s something emotional that happens when I flip through those pages. Great camera you have by the way! 😁📸😍

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  51. Your poem is beautiful and expressive, Kym. I carry my camera and prefer using it to my phone. Phone cameras are good for most things, but not for framing. I have a Nikon 950 with no extra lenses. It is a bit heavy but avoids handling extra lenses, carrying them, or dropping them. Hugs, Girlfriend.

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  52. Love it, love it, love it Mary! 💖 Smartphones are convenient, but it is just something about the look and feel of an actual camera that moves me a little more. 📸 I guess it makes me feel…hmmm…professional! 😜 Much love coming your way my dear! Cheers and Happy Labor Day! 🥂

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