“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” - Destin Sparks

Old family photographs; some of my best memories, some of my worst memories, but more importantly, what captures all of this in its true essence; the lens of life a camera. When I ask myself what I can’t live without, the one thing flashing in my mind are beautiful moments filled with laughter that I have shared with my family that eventually turned into memories. Memories tend to fade and turn into long forgotten moments as time passes by but just with a click of a button, this device allows you to freeze and keep a moment running for as long as you’d like. It records and saves every smile, every frown line and every sneaky look, without skipping a single detail. My camera enables me to not just revisit treasured moments but also experience the same emotions I did when I captured that moment. To explain this feeling in a few words would be as if you jump into a pool of nostalgia whenever you desire.

For me my camera is not just an accessory, rather it is my ability to be able to jump back 10 years into the past and relish in the comfort of the smiles present on my grandparents faces. I realized how valuable capturing parts of my life are to me when I paid attention to this picture that hangs on my bedroom door. I’m 8 years old and it’s Eid circa 2016. The picture isn’t extraordinary at first glance; just my grandfather and I sitting on a table, discussing something trivial, I was eight, after all. On the table is a wide expanse of every staple Eid dish. Nihari, paye, you name it, it’s there. And Atta Jee is holding his prickly moustache to my cheek, while I laugh. When I look at the picture, I can hear my mother screaming about the Nihari stains on her new table cloth while my father’s laughing loudly on the phone and the constant coming and going of people wishing everyone Eid Mubarik. I can no longer feel my grandfather but when I look at the picture, I remember how prickly his moustache was. I remember his laughter. I remember his unique 8-count sneeze. Sweet memories and a range of emotions come flooding in by just one glance at that picture of me with my Atta Jee.

The photographs we take serve as a bridge between our past and present selves, and they allow us to connect with our loved ones in a way like no other. The moments we choose to capture will serve as the thread that our later generations hold onto dearly, as the last connection between us.

It’s time for you to pick up your camera, before it’s too late and the little moments in life fly by over our heads because it is these moments that act as the strands that form the tapestry of our lives.