Rescuing Photos and Memories

In 2016 and 2017, I continued photographing the skies and the changing light. When I was organizing the photos, I noticed that I took only a few photographs. I was working all the time and rarely giving myself enough time to pause, look up, and admire the sky. Still, scattered among those demanding days were a few rare moments of admiring the sky. And even though there are only a few photographs, the stunning beauty of the few photos make up for it. Reminded me that in this season of my life, richness was in appreciating what few joys I had, few stunning photos that came far and few in between long hours of working. Looking at it now, the few photos are like rare gems.

Looking through these photographs brings back so many memories—the joyful moments, as well as the difficult seasons that kept them grounded in reality. For years, many of these images were buried in the confusion of my disorganized digital files. Now that I have finally sorted them, I feel a deep sense of relief and even celebration whenever I rediscover a moment I had completely forgotten. It feels almost like finding hidden treasures.

Reviewing the photographs, deleting blurry images and duplicates, and choosing the ones that hold the strongest memories has become a mindful process. Each decision helps me recognize what is worth keeping and what I am ready to let go. I am excited to turn these selected photographs into videos that I can easily watch and enjoy, without having to dig through endless folders filled with a mixture of wonderful, ordinary, and unusable images.

Rescuing these photographs from digital chaos has also helped me focus on what matters most—not only in the pictures, but in the memories they hold. It allows me to fully appreciate the joyful moments while also examining the more challenging ones. The difficult memories create contrast, giving the happier moments greater depth and meaning. Together, they form a more honest and complete story of my life.

The music in this video is “Time of Your Life” by Patrick Patrikios, from the YouTube Audio Library. The title makes me smile because, truthfully, I did not feel that I was having the time of my life during those years. But seeing the sunsets and sunrises now gives me a different perspective. In hindsight, those difficult seasons challenged me to grow, become stronger, and find peace with what I was being asked to endure.

At first, I created these videos only for myself. I wanted an easier way to revisit the years and see the story held within the photographs. Now I share them in case they inspire someone else. Perhaps your memories are scattered across phones, computers, hard drives, cloud accounts, and albums. Begin with one year, one subject, and one journey. Everything begins to fall into place.

These darker years belong in my Searching for Light collection. They offer contrast, depth, and proof that even during difficult times, light was still present. I look forward to seeing how my the stories and creations will grow with each new collection. For now, I am simply grateful to have rescued these photographs from digital chaos and given them a place where their memories can live again.

I now invite you to watch this video as part of my continuing journey through memory, photography, and changing light. Not the best quality yet as the the tentative effort has limitations - as I learn how to shape these photographs into something that can be easily watched, enjoyed, and shared. Creating these videos is a new skill for me, but that is also part of the excitement of transcening the past. Catch 2016-2017 here:

https://youtu.be/6PwiXVtTPJ8

https://youtu.be/6PwiXVtTPJ8