There is so much that a single photo can tell you. A picture can capture stories of families, political movements, love, and growing. I've always loved photography for the purpose of keeping a memory that you can't help but forget. I find comfort when I sit on my dining room floor and look through albums upon albums of my childhood, my parents childhood, the history and change of generations and eras. Though photos you can discover what someone loved, what you forgot you had or wore or loved. Through photos you can see the world change, and relive a memory all over again.

But today, we may take photos a bit too far.

It is so important to remember an event or feeling, and one way is to capture it. Yet today, I am torn, for we see so many people take photos instead of living in the moment. The question is then, are we taking photos for remembrance and love, or to show off and fit in? Not for the memory or enjoyment, but for the social engagement and talk of where you were or what you look like?

There have been a lot of discussions about people using technology for more than what's good for them. That we spend more time holding our cell phones and mirrors, more than we are holding each other. I want to make a clear distinction between being obsessed with taking photos of nonsense and being attached to your phone, than to the artistic value of memory and beauty in photography.

I love to photograph nature. I love to go on walks with my phone so I can capture a sunset that's exploding with color. So I cant capture the solitude of pine trees, and the silent life and vibrancy of a meadow. love to capture the flow of water running against the stones and pebbles. I love to capture ventured paths and hidden beauties in the decay of moss or dying trees. This does not mean that every walk I ever go on, I bring my phone. This does not mean that I walk with my phone so I can text and tweet "What a beautiful walk I'm on" or "Guys what do you think about ..." while sitting at a pond. It is important to go out alone, to walk alone, to engage in nature without your phone. The first time I went on a walk, I didn't photograph everything, I experienced first.

And that's a good point. Put experience beforehand. If you take a family trip and you know you want memorable photos of the scenery and everyone together, take them at random and spontaneous times. That's something my mom taught me. She loves taking pictures when we least expect it. She's capturing the moment and the memory without dragging us out of it, and she's also still experiencing life. When you take a photo, don't sit there and critique it and decide if you want to take another. Just snap, and put it away until another time later. Live in the moment, engage in your life.

Those who do photography as a profession treat it with a more artist view. An average person photographing may take a picture for their own enjoyment and memory, where a professional photographer is taking photos for utter passion and art. I have so much respect for photographers. They have the capability to see beyond the naked eye to a pure art of people and the earth. Photography is like painting. When you look at a painting you can think about the history, where it was painted, when, why. I personally like to look at paintings and art and think, why did they paint this, what are they trying to say, what were they feeling. I also love to thinking about their process. Which paint brush, what stroke, how much time they spent. Photography is the same experience. You have to think, what did this photographer fall in love with that they wanted to capture? What do they want us to see? What significance does this have to us, to the artist? What was the process of it all? How?

People loving and understanding other people is so important. That is why art is important. It provokes feelings that are unique and individual and heartfelt. Photography is a wondrous idea, but don't lose yourself in the picture before you lose yourself in the moment. Make sure you live before stopping what your doing, to capture the life. You cant have an empty picture with no memory. Is there a point to that? ~Carpe Diem

Some of my very amateur nature photography (unedited):