Photographic Memory

When I was ten years old, my kind parents gave me a camera. Small and simple, but it was mine and I treasured it! For a very long time I used it and its followers in a rather traditional way. I now have quite a number of photo albums filled with mundane holiday pictures. When I got older and started to travel abroad to exotic places like Greece, Egypt, and Australia I also developed my albums into scrapbooks, filled not only with photos but with small tickets, bright leaflets, smart postcards etcetera in order to enhance the communication of the mood of the place and the journey.

When I bought my first mobile phone with a built-in digital camera, I was not that much interested in this feature. However, I soon developed technique of taking somewhat more “arty” kinds of photos and combining them into presentations in PowerPoint. Although the quality of the photos was rather poor, I felt rather comfortable with my “style”. Proud even. It was also so very easy to take pictures, since I always bring my mobile phone where ever I go.

Even though I bought a digital camera for my parents a couple of years ago, which I and my Mother used when we went to South Africa in 2003, I still didn’t exactly endorse the new technology. I suppose I was afraid of loosing my identity as an “artist”. However, one cold day in December 2006 I decided to make the leap and bought a digital camera for myself. This was prompted by Leif Josefsson’s demonstration of Picasa, Google’s excellent program for editing and distributing photos.

Having almost no knowledge of cameras at all, I didn’t have a clue regarding what camera to choose. I had decided on a price range, why I chose the one who had received a price from a photo journal: a Samsung NV10. Although I still haven’t figured out all the features yet (and yes, I actually read the manual!), I do like it tremendously. I still take some traditional holiday pictures, but with the help of Picasa I feel that I’m beginning to develop a new style.

The camera has also become an invaluable companion in my work as a consultant. At workshops I use it to capture text and pictures made on flipcharts, but also people in action and characteristics of the room and the place. This provides a rich basis for documentation, and the pictures are really easy to integrate into both reports and presentations (once you have discovered how to compress them). I have also taken to using my private pictures as illustrations for report front pages, as a means of making them more attractive.

This mix between private and professional is a general feature of the way I conduct my life. The use of Picasa to distribute pictures to all kinds of people I know supports this aspect. I find it rewarding to know that quite a number of people can enjoy my photos using this particular kind of Internet technology, in contrast to the old scrapbooks that almost never got any attention. I also feel rather good about leaving the laggard category, and perhaps I will become an early adopter...