Creating Memories & Cherishing Moments – Our Photography Project

CHALLENGE - Image Credit Robyna MayWhen we started to chat about this month’s central theme – creating memories and cherishing moments – we started talking about the WHY behind our photos.

As bloggers, we are learning the art of the flat-lay, the instagram-able moment, the pinterest-worthy image. We laugh with each other as we move things around to “style” a lovely shot, but these images are fleeting. We aren’t likely to print them out and keep them in an album. They are never going to grace our walls or frames. So often we grab our phones with the intention of immediately sharing the pic and without the intention of keeping it for posterity.

So, we decided that we would commit to taking photos outside of the intention to share on social media. Images that caught our eye. New ways to use our cameras. Different kinds of moments.

And, in a somewhat ironic move, we are sharing them with you today.

When we did the awesome Blog with Pip course, she challenged us to a photo safari where we took five photos of our weekend.  We have run with that idea this week and we would love you to do the same.


Robyna’s Photos

Photo Credit: Robyna May

I took this in Sydney when I was there for the Bupa Blog Awards lunch – you can read more about that here. I was walking the city, unencumbered by children or luggage. I had an an hour or so to waste and rather than shopping (the shops in Sydney are now exactly the same as the ones in Brisbane anyway) I thought I’d discover the laneways. This amazing display was suspended above a restaurant.

Photo Credit: Robyna May

Again in Sydney, I loved the way the light played through the corridor.

Photo Credit: Robyna May

Camping at Lake Ainsworth – so many beautiful colours.The water is the colour of strong tea due to the tea trees that surround the lake.

Photo Credit: Robyna May

This tumbleweed was sitting on the beach.I thought it looked a bit like an alien gathering together little balls of sand.

Sarah’s Photos

When we scheduled this post I remember thinking oh that will be easy. And then ‘life’ happened. As a result my photo taking hasn’t been terribly exciting because bed rest and taking it easy aren’t very interesting.

I have been thinking about the ‘why’ behind my photo taking much more though. I am taking less photos and I am ok with that as I am definitely feeling more present. That said, here are some photos I have taken over the last couple of weeks. They are moments that I want to remember and weren’t taken in a hasty snap-share frame of mind.

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It was my husband’s birthday last week. We wrote him a message on our chalkboard wall and tried to get a family snap to send him. Capturing the photo involved a lot of bouncing the toddler and restraining the dog and a few renditions of ‘row, row, row your boat’. Not one of the photos has us all smiling or looking at the camera. I love them though – they reflect our life honestly.

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On a rare moment by myself I looked up and had memories of looking up through trees to the sky much more regularly before I had Miss M. I would turn my face to the sun and try to absorb it’s energy.

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We built a cubby last week and it was the same afternoon we had a storm. This is where Sasha the Wonder Dog decided to hide during the storm. She really is quite different.

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That isn’t an ice cream. It is one of those marshmallow cone things that you get from the bakery. My parents bought my daughter one. She ate it. She stayed up almost three hours later than she normally would.

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This photo is being kept as a reminder of what happens when I run myself into the ground and don’t listen to my body. It was a scary couple of days (that involved having to wear this awful mask every time someone entered my room) and a place I don’t want to be again.


This Week’s Challenge

As we enter into the silly season, there are so many wonderful things to photograph. The challenge this week is to get out there and just take photos. Not to necessarily share on social media, but to push yourself as a photographer, to photograph things you might not and to perhaps even learn the amazing things that your camera can do.

What do you love taking photos of?

9 thoughts on “Creating Memories & Cherishing Moments – Our Photography Project

  1. Reannon @shewhorambles says:

    So many of my photos are my kids or food. The kid ones are for me ( mostly but I do occasionally share to my personal FB page & rarely to Insta) but the food ones grace my Insta feed. Lately I have been trying to put the camera ( phone) down more often & just “be” in the moment. It’s had though. I’m a sharer & photos are a great way of connecting online.

    • themummyandtheminx says:

      Robyna & I are both sharers, even over-sharers maybe. I have noticed that as I have started to ask ‘why’ about the photos I go to take, and then on the occasions I choose not to, I am making better photo decisions overall and just feeling a bit more apart of the picture. It’s a good feeling, and that analysis sounds way too involved than it perhaps should be. I love food pictures – almost more interested in what my friends are eating than what their kids are up to!? What? Did I say that out loud? xx

  2. Lisa says:

    I tend to go easy on the kids photos on social media, but have been trying to improve my photography skills as well, love your photos. Congrats on your Bupa Award x

  3. Deb Baker says:

    I really love this idea. I’m guilty of taking a lot of staged photos since starting my online business and have forgotten to take photos of the everyday. I loved doing the photo safari component of Pip’s course. Should do it much more often. I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself Sarah. Our bodies have a way of letting us know when to slow down. xx

  4. Clare Davis Etheridge says:

    Great photos ladies. I love how different they are, the ones taken looking up are very effective and I love the alien tumbleweed too. I post weekly photos every Monday and sometimes I have a ton and sometimes I don’t seem to have any!

    • Robyna says:

      Thanks – I think you take quite different photos when you are looking for an interesting angle, or wanting to say something, rather than just wanting to socially share. I think it’s nice to do both. Will look out for your Monday photos!

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