look at this photograph, everytime I do it makes me laugh

Last night, I was looking around my apartment at some of the photos I have. They're all in frames, on the wall or on shelves documenting some of my favorite moments in time. There are pictures from the two years I lived in Krakow; all over the city and all over some of the others that I was fortunate enough to travel to. There are photos of my family; of me with my siblings when we were young and photos of my grandparents and a photo of my parents about twenty years ago when my mother's hair was long and curly. They are at the top of Mount Washington- it is one of my favorite photos of them. They look so happy and carefree, like they are at the top of the world (which they literally were! well, close!). There are photos of me with high school friends and photos of me with college friends. Photos of me with friends from in between. There are also two photos of me and Steve; one from my best friend's wedding a few years ago and the other at the Christmas tree at Rockfeller Center, also a few years ago.

Sensing a pattern here?

I found that none of the photos in my apartment are from later than 2005. Why is this? Well, I'd say that it is because of the arrival of digital cameras. Yes, I realize that they existed before 2005...but that is when I got one! I was in Poland from 2002 until 2004 and I had an older camera that took actual film that I would bring to get developed. I miss those days. One of my favorite things was to drop off a few rolls of film and then go back to pick up the pictures, with the anticipation of what was on the roll. Inevitably, there would be a few bad pictures, but they were developed anyway. There was no "delete" button if my eyes were closed or I didn't like the way I looked. I had the photo anyway, for all of eternity.

I was so sad when I recently read that Kodak decided to retire its iconic Kodachrome film after more than 70 years. Again, another move towards the world of digitalization. My two years in Poland are documented in hundreds of photos. They are in a large Rubbermaid bin, which sits in the corner of my apartment. I've begun to organize them into albums, but I can't work on this project for too long because I get so nostalgic and begin to daydream about ways to get back to Krakow and spend my days sitting on the Rynek Glowny in the sun. Those days were among the most amazing I've had and I can think of few things I'd like more then to be there again.

I suppose the solution to my dilemma is to print out new photos for frames, eh? Somehow though, it isn't the same. While I do have hundreds of recent photos, most of which can be seen on the dozens of albums on facebook, it still doesn't compare to the the thrill of real photos, fresh from being developed. I miss that.

What are your most favorite photos? Where in your house are they hung?


PS. Keep an eye out...I'll be posting a giveaway or two next week!