Ika 30 ng Marso 2009: Fascination with Photos in the Digital Age

Today, all the kids are on vacation mode. ED is still unsure if she still has to take an exams...... she said that depends on the pre-final grades she got which they will know today. If she gets high enough, then she is exempted from taking the exams.

I was the first one to wake up..... not really because I was excited to go to work. But because I couldn't sleep anymore. Since I can afford to slack off a little as it is the summer vacation already, I decided to upload our pics in my sites. I recently set up a site for my mother's side clan and since then I have been fascinated with uploading photos on the net.... MD was ribbing me about this during MS's graduation dinner as my click-happy finger happily took pictures at every opportunity.

I used to organize our albums when pictures take ages before we could see them. The digicam has been there for awhile as its usage rate has steadily grown since when it was first introduced. Before the digicam, what does it take to have a picture? First, you need a camera and a film. Then, you can take the pictures. We have to ensure that we pose correctly and the conditions are right..... or that would be a shot wasted if we didn't. Films are in 12, 24, 36 shots..... not sure if there are more than this. Cameras have also developed over time. From the crude big boxes that take black and white pictures, I remember having a model where one puts on a flash bulb to use when there isn't enough light. Then, we had one where the flash was built in. We moved on to having one with auto-focus features and some extras like red eye reduction. The good pictures were taken using powerful lenses of professional cameras.

After the instruments, let's discuss how pictures were developed. Yes, we have to develop pictures before we could see them. Some still do today..... but I guess the small photo developing centers are the next dying industry if they don't innovate. Today's generation might take for granted that pictures are available as soon as they are taken. Granting that a camera is on hand, one has to have money to buy the film and to have the film processed to have the pictures. I used to set aside money for the developing process. It was not really cheap. I have spent an enormous amount with the tons of albums I organize for our family of five. The albums would also be another expense. The price could easily go up depending on how beautiful you want the album to look. I actually fell into the pattern..... ED would have the most pictures, MD would still have enough, and with MS, I managed to organize albums until he was seven but not as much compared to his two sisters. It was both costly and time-consuming.

I am one of those who take on technology well and use it to my advantage. Today's photography technology may also have high initial investment cost. It's not only the digicam. One has to have access to a PC or laptop to download or upload pictures. We may have eliminated the need for film but one needs a memory card for additional photo memory. With this, I noticed too that pictures are more numerous than before. Whereas we would require our kids to pose nicely for the camera to get value for every shot in the past, now wacky pictures are in vogue too. We would need connectors too. In many instances the USB connectors that comes with our digicam package do not always work for us. The card reader given as a gift by my friend Dayap to ED who is her godchild works wonders. Hubby also purchased a bluetooth connector for those photos coming from the celfone.

Being a technology user by discovering, I used to rely on ED and MD for uploading my pics on the net. Since their school workload has tremendously increased, they would not be very willing to help their TH-techie mom most of the time. I decided to learn. Now that I learned, there is no stopping me..... I guess I am done organizing pictures into a physical album. I am doing my organization on the net where space is almost unlimited. My organization has even become simpler and more convenient. With the kind of technology we have, I can't wait what would come next as far as digital technology is concerned. As it is, I am happy seeing and sharing my photos and those of my loved ones and friends anytime and anywhere. Sometimes that is enough to take the doldrums of a work week.

On my way to work this first day of the work week, I am excited to see the latest pictures I uploaded.....

PS: Kahapon sa pamamalengke ko, naulinigan ko ang pag-uusap ng katiwala ng tindahan at ng isang customer. Nabanggit ng customer na masarap daw yun litson na inirekomenda niya. Tinanong ko yun katiwala kung saan yun litson para malaman ko pag bibili kami. Buong galak niyang ipinagmalaki yun bilihan at inengganyo ako na bumili. Sabi ko sa susunod na lang at wala akong extra na pera at di ko kasama ang asawa ko.

Aba at sabi niya, pwede daw utang at siya ang bahala. Ayoko sana at nahihiya din ako. Pero sobrang pilit ng katiwala at naengganyo ako. Iniwan ko sandali ang pamimili at sumama sa kanya. Ipinakilala ako sa me ari at sinabing gusto ko kumuha pero wala nga akong pera. Ok naman sa nagtitinda ng lechon. Kaya ayun nakakuha ako ng litson na naging hapunan namin kahapon.

Habang naghahapunan kami, kinantyawan ako ng mga anak ko na lahat daw inutangan ko na. Kasi nung isang araw, sinadya ko din ang parlor na nagserbisyo sa kin nung Huwebes para bayaran ang kulang ko. Dapat kasi papakulay lang ako ng buhok at manicure, eh naitanong ko rin ang highlights at tinanong ako kung gusto ko daw. Sabi ko kulang ang pera ko. Aba at sinabi ng me-ari na pwede daw utang at suki naman nila ako.

Pinagtatawanan ako ng asawa at mga anak at paano daw ako nakakautang sa mga yon. Katwiran ko naman.... hindi naman ako nangungutang. Sila ang nag-aalok sa kin.... bumibigay lang ako. Ano magagawa ko kung mapagkakatiwalaan ako? Hindi ba isang birtud yan?