Photography and Emotion: Snaps shots as memories

A young man sits in his studio working on a stormy evening. A flash of lightening catches his attention. The windows are open on the other end of the studio allowing the sound of the storm to entertain him. The sound of cars passing by on the wet pavement is as peaceful as the drops of water splashing in their collected puddles. To the slight distance he can hear the equally poetic claps of thunder rolling through the skies above the valley. On his desk is a scanner. The device is working, going back and forth scanning dozens of images. Snapshots, portraits, family memories, all being captured so they can become a story board of a life. Each image is a memory and a moment in time. While the young photographer does not know the woman that appears so frequently in the photographs, he can feel the emotions that each image is charged with. He has the privilege of building the story board of her life. Smiles, laughter, fond memories, family and friends, all present on his desk and in his scanner. When he is done, he will have gained a synopsis of her life and produced a timeline to give to his friend for him to share with his family. It is a simple story of both life and happiness. Photography provides access to memoires through visual and tangible objects, photographs.