Before it's too late..

[BigFuzzy]

Sadly, my mother passed away on the 4th of July. It was completely unexpected and we were all caught off guard. Luckily she went peacefully and without suffering.

I had recently started working on a new (for me) style of portraiture so that I could do a series of family photos this coming winter holidays because I realized (too late of course) that I didn't have many "good" portraits of my parents.

Sadly I won't be able to get one of my mother any more. While thinking of photos of my mom I asked my father to show me any old images he might have from the past. What he showed me stunned me. It was a treasure trove of amazing photos I didn't even know we had. My father, turns out, was a pretty amazing photographer in his day and finding these images of my mother when younger was such a spirit lifter I cannot describe. He captured such spirit and personality I cannot even touch! Wow.

The point of this post (before I get long winded hah) is to say, take those images you have in your mind NOW before it's too late. Stop putting it off because you never know what'll happen in the future and you'll regret not having more memories.

And PRINT! Holding those old prints in my hand and physically going through them with my sister over some drinks cannot have been done sitting at a computer monitor. They take on a whole new life when printed. So stop just storing them away.. print them even if just for others to enjoy.

It also goes to show how, sometimes, all those technical details and imperfections just don't matter if you capture the spirit of something so that others can enjoy it. Though you didn't know my mother, these images, for those that survive her, clearly captured everything that she was despite all the "wrongs" in the image.. so keep that in mind when capturing your images!

Forgive me if I break any forum rules by posting the below images, but I felt I had to share my fathers shots of my mother.. at the very least so that others "in the know" can appreciate the amazing-ness of these old photos.

PS not looking for sympathy, just thought there was a good lesson to learn here.

[Izzy]

I know you have me on ignore. Maybe some one will relay this message to you? Who knows. I am truly sorry for your loss. Your post here reminds me that I should in fact make the best of every moment and not wait to live. All to often we take the people near us forgranted in ways. Forgranted they will be there longer than they are.

I have a decent relationship with my mother through lots of hard work. I know she will not last forever so I cherish each time I get to speak with her.

Enough about me. I hope...................... Ah crap I don't know what to say. I never do in these situations. I wish you the best and BTW sorry for being an ass before.

[WooD]

Truly sorry for your loss.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by Izzy

I know you have me on ignore.

Dude, not sure what made you think I was ignoring you, I don't 'ignore' people. But thanks

Originally Posted by WooD

Truly sorry for your loss.

Thanks

And here's one with me in it:

[Bruce A]

Weren't mothers great for getting those boogers out of your nose.

Great memories for you and your family Al. Sorry about your loss, she looks like she was a special person.

[RichardTaylor]

Condolences to you and your family.

Good advice and those photographs do make for great memories.

[candidrachel]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your mother was very attractive and I agree your dad was a great photographer. Treasure those photos.

hanks for the reminder to take photos of our parents when we can. My mother (who is now 71) and step-father are keen gardeners and look after several allotments and I keep saying to myself that I must get up there and take some candid photos or environmental portraits of themselves enjoing their hobby but I just "never get round to it".

Once again, sorry to hear of your mothers passing. My own father passed away when I was 6 and he was also a great photographer. I love flicking through the slides. It's my son's 12 birthday today and I told him that I have had a son longer than I had a daddy

[NgaiHill]

Al, so sorry for your loss. Wonderful that you have so many great photos of your mother and that you have those memories to share with your family.
My father died of leukemia 6 years ago and for good or bad, we knew he was terminal for about 13 months. This gave us time to have one last family Christmas and one last birthday with him and to get those all important photos. He was pretty camera shy and we don't have too many pics of him from later life, we were just lucky in a way that we had the chance to grab those memories before it was too late..
Today we went to my husband's grandmother's funeral, she died on Tuesday night. My father in law told me after the funeral that his brother, who lives in the North Island, phoned his mother the day she died to tell her he had flights booked to come down to see her on Thursday. He hadn't seen her in two years and was sadly two days too late, it just never pays to put things off these days.

[Dodge]

Deepest sympathy Al,

There's nothing I can really add without repeating what others have already said better than I could.

[statichash]

Al, so sorry to hear that - my deepest condolences to you and your family. Hold on to those photos and cherish them for the years to come, consolidate them in an album so that you can always go back to it and reminisce.