One Hundred Photos

When I was a young teen,  I remember getting my first "instamatic" camera. it took Kodak 110 film that came in an unusual thin horizontal canister that loaded into the camera and let you take 12 to 24 pictures depending on which size canister you purchased.  You could also purchase a three pack of flash bulbs that each allowed you to take 4 flash photos.  It was thrilling and agony to take pictures, being very choosy with what images you might freeze in time and over a long period of time or on a special occasion you might take the entire roll. One would bring the canister to a camera shop or have to send them off in the mail and wait at least a week to get photos back.

I still have the photos with my loving family headless, photos that turned out all black, photos that turned out all right, and enough that capture the precious moments of the time.

Years later, I remember going to a lecture by Gainesville, Florida photographer, John Moran, in which he mentioned that he usually had to take 100 photos to get that "one" photo that was a prize and really captured what you might be after.

These days, digital photography, and especially, with your cell phone, has changed everything.  Case in point, we had a fun filled day out today (see the great blog by Sheamus for July 1, 2019), and between the hours of 11:30 and 5pm, I was surprised (and not) that I managed to take a mere 170 photos on my phone.  Some were to help me remember information like names and "faces" of plants, and some were for the student slideshow, and others were just for me (e.g., the texture of some tree bark or the architectural details of an old building), but 170 photos! 

We will each probably take almost a thousand pictures during our five week adventure together in New Zealand, and I for one, am excited to see the "ones" in a hundred that attempt to capture the essence of our experiences here and how this adventure looks through the eyes of the beholders.  I hope that you enjoy each blog by each of our students that shows these views from their pictures as well as their words, and that we all enjoy the journey each captures.  - Meryl