The memory of the moment
I like photography.�� Capturing the memory of the moment.�� It could be amusing sights around the house…
or the treasures from a vacation…
It could be from the quiet awareness of a Zen photo walk….
or the loud enthusiasm of friends.
Detroit City FC Supporters march to the stadium. Photo by Michael Kitchen.
There is one category that, in 2014, I took a hiatus from.�� Events.�� At special events I would take my camera, particularly if there were authors or other artists around.
In 2014, I attended these events and left the camera at home:
-Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction of Alexi Lalas
-Bill Ayers at Source Books in Detroit
-Brigid Pasulka at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor
-Voices of the Midwest event in Ann Arbor
-Zell Distinguished Visiting Writer – Jane Smiley in Ann Arbor
-Motor City Comic Con
-Detroit Working Writers conference
-Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair
-Metro Detroit Book and Author Luncheon, May, 2014
-Lolita Hernandez book launch in Detroit
-Marie Mason Prison Work Art Exhibit in Detroit
-Ann Arbor Book Festival
-US vs Belgium Watch Party in Campus Martius, Detroit
-Ann Arbor Art Fair
-Author readings hosted by Kelly Fordon
-Northern Guard Supporters’ Books & Breakfast gathering at John King Books in Detroit
-Kathleen Ripley Leo book signing in Northville
-Books on the Banks book festival in Cincinnati, OH
-Metro Detroit Book and Author Luncheon, October, 2014
-National Writers Series featuring Rita Mae Brown in Traverse City, MI
-Tom Daldin book signing at Paperback Writer Books in Mount Clemens, MI
-Emily Rose book signing at Paperback Writer Books in Mount Clemens, MI
Was it worth leaving the camera home?
Without the camera, I was more present at these events.�� There were no concerns about seating and whether the lighting in the building would be good enough to shoot without a flash.�� My mind was not divided between the content of the event and the image on the digital camera screen.�� There wasn’t the awkwardness of holding the camera while awaiting its use and of asking the person who was the center of attention to pose.�� I found it liberating.
However, those moments are now committed only to images in my memory; that limited space where decades of moments have been forever lost, unable to recover even when reminded by others who were there.�� Photos give life to those favorable memories.�� If a photo is worth a thousand words, then in 2014 I left behind a four-hundred page epic of images.
I’ve found that even though I was released of the burden of carrying the camera, the loss of captured images – the memories of the moment – is far too great.
