Photography - Why it is important - Especially Video

Every year on annual leave we - meaning self,wife,son and daughter and at a later date our dear dog 'Buttons' used to come down to Bangalore to be with my parents.My mother in law also lived in Bangalore in her sons house. We tried to plan the holidays so that my wife's two sisters with their families could also be there. We all camped at my Bil's huge and hospitable house.At any given time we were about seventeen permanent inmates and a hoard of aunts,uncles,grand parents and friends dropping in depending on the day of the week and time of the day. There used be a lot of daily group activities involving the nine children,however the most important activity was the variety entertainment to be put up by the kids at the end of their holidays.The grand event was attended by a large number of invitees.There was lot of planning and discussions as to what should be the programme.Once it was decided what to do, there was daily rehearsals and generally it was lots of fun.

One year it was a play from Thennali Rama,next year it was rock and roll dance with punk hairdo,another year it was a Punjabi dance and drama with a home made script,a magic show and so on. Year after year it was a hit and the children performed extremely well. We recorded the events with great care and took a lot of photographs.

1. Punk Dance : Kari,Vishu,Vivek,Sachu,Shreya,Akhila



2 Tennali Rama 














At that time i should have had a video camera to record all the events with movements and sound. But it was 1980 - 85 and the videocams had to be imported and extremely costly.To cut a story short - we could not afford a camera and the events had to be recorded in still photos. Once in a way we do get to remember the old times when we all sit and take a look at the albums and talk about it.

Punjabi Dance

Come 09 Apr 2007 the children presented me with a videocam for my birthday. A fantastic present. Come 25 April 2007 daughter delivered a son and six months later our daughter in law delivered a daughter on 13 Oct 2007. A few still photographs of our grand children with their parents,before i take you to the video. (Click on the photos to see enlarged view)

Ayaan

Samara

Proud Father Vivek with Samara

Proud Father Neer with Ayaan

Proud Mother  Akki and Ayaan

Shuhra and Samara

I have done 35 hours of recording since then, covering many events - namakarana,7th month ceremony of my daughter in law, scene at the hospital,annaprasanna,crawling,trying to stand up, attempts at taking the first step,walking,1st year birthday,Christmas,new year parties, visits to beaches,holiday homes,home stay, at home, on the play field etc.In short - three years of their growing up.In the bargain most of our birthdays, friends children's wedding,holidays have also been covered.

Since last five days i have been viewing them and putting them in order to convert them into DVDs.Viewing them has been a fantastic and unforgettable experience for the entire family. Video brings back the events in every detail and the running commentary jogs your memory giving you a total recall. My grandson was the most excited of the lot - an experience he is yet to fully understand.

Unlike still, the video provides a total recall due to the commentary and the movement provides the required continuity,depth and detail.However hard i try to remember the names and the trivia associated with my trip to US while viewing the stills - memory fails me. Yes i can say " look that's having beer in New Orleans".Its a far cry from the commentary which would have said " Daughter saying -Baba listen this is the last beer you are going to have - we are leaving, wife adding - if he continues at this rate this is going to be the last beer in US etc. The electric mood, the nuances,between the words,the expressions,the salty comments - they all come with the VIDEO only.

As we were watching the video - i could accurately carbon date the last time i was able to wear the Black and White silk shirt without unduly hurting my stomach or the buttons on the shirt.Many hidden secrets are shamelessly revealed - i over heard my daughter saying " amma have you seen the size of your helpings ... no wonder etc.

Simply put, its fun and provides you the 'feel good effect' at no cost. Good to watch on a rainy day or when you are not up to anything.The down side is - its only for you, do not call somebody to come and sit next to you and watch.Its damn boring for the rest of the world.

So go ahead and invest in a good video.Cheers.