As David Burnett gave his master class keynote speech to World Press Photo he remarked upon the fact that for many years, as a younger man, he pointed the camera at the things he thought were important, but not the things that are important now. I believe he was speaking of his life versus his work, recording the memories and not the incidents.

I am reminded of this speech tonight as we bury a beloved pet "Trouble" in the cold ground in back of the house. I don't know that I have any photos of him, and to be honest I don't know that having photos would matter in the end (edit|Amie had this photo from a few years ago). His life was brief but eventful, I would like to think I will remember his antics. According to Burnett, I am likely to start to forget sooner than I will want.

Through our little buddy's life and death I am reminded that life changes quickly. I am still surrounded by most of the people I knew as a child. Few family members have passed on, and fewer friends. But life is moving on, and with every late night phone call, there is uncertainty.

So it is, that I must start to record that which will matter in the long run, and not just that which translates to beauty or aesthetic. There is a Japanese term called "aware" (ah-wah-reh) which is a Buddhist concept referring to the fleeting nature of life. In photography we try to immortalize these moments. I just need to make sure that I am immortalizing the moments I don't want to forget.

-------------------------------------------------------
This Polaroid test was to be the topic of my blog tonight before events played out as they did. I will talk about the polaroid more in my next post. An interesting medium in the art of photography, the Polaroid, like a slide but even more so, is a singular record of a moment in front of the camera. It will not last forever, the chemicals aren't stable enough, and in its abstraction of the real world is its beauty or character. The Polaroid image is exactly the size of the Hasselblad image frame (2.25"x2.25"). More on that soon.