So as you know if you follow me on Instagram, my phone camera broke a few weeks ago. First of all, super fucking annoying. Only my snapchat selfie camera works… It won’t open in any other app including the camera itself. SO WEIRD.
With this newfound limitation I’m realizing that I did not recognize how often I took pictures of random things until I couldn’t. I pull my phone out all the time to be like “oh I need to remember this”, or “look how pretty!” and then realize… I can’t take the photo.
So, in memory of all the times I could still take pictures of random things, I’ve created a collection of quarantine memories… Pictures of “things that aren’t me”, from back when I could still differentiate the days based on my camera roll.
We’ll start with the “taken for sentimental reasons”… These were all taken at the end of March, before we knew what we were really in for. The couple walking in the rain made my heart swell at least a full inch in diameter… They were very old, and holding hands, and walking so slowly. It was just beautiful.
This sign (made with green solo cups), is on the fence of our local elementary school. As a proud Lone Pine Elementary alum, this shoutout to the Wildcats really gave me a good twinge. It also got the school song stuck in my head (“we know when to work hard, and when to goof off too.. We’re the Lone Pine WILDCATS, the truest of the true…”)
Finally, look at this perfect tiny flower! I took this picture because it looks fake! Crazy vibrant. I came to a complete stop upon seeing it, one of those “wow the earth is amazing” moments.
Here we see “Trees Against Blue Sky”. These were taken on walks around the neighborhood. My mom and I have been walking a lot, and she stopped me on both of these occasions to be like “Look how pretty the trees are against the sky!” They are. Does anything scream spring more than this??
Ahhh the dogwood. My mom is obsessed with dogwoods. When we were younger she would point out every dogwood while they were flowering, and we always thought it was so annoying. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself pointing them out to everyone… They only bloom for a few weeks, so you have to appreciate them while you can. She was right, they are really so pretty.
This particular dogwood is on our walk around the block (if you go on the drainage ditch loop, as opposed to the neighborhood loop). I took this sunshine-y picture because the pink was so vibrant. Then, a few days later, I took the second picture because the light was so cool. Back-lit looming storm cloud light is always the best.
These are two different cats! They were originally both sitting on that little pillar but then one of them (whose collar identifies him as Loki), got scared and ran under the fence while I was trying to take a picture. I’ve always been kind of fascinated by pairs of things; whether it’s twin cats, or a dog who matches their owner, or lions flanking a driveway. Something about the symmetry always catches my eye.
I don’t know what it is about quarantine, but the sunsets have been AMAZING the last month or so. These are just two examples, but I have been in awe over and over again. So red, so vibrant, clouds edged in fire, the whole deal. Just really amazing.
It’s the sunsets that have made me think the most about my broken phone camera. It’s going to sound so cliche, but it’s really made me more conscious of living in the moment. Part of me always wants to document those crazy colorful moments, so I can share them (show off?), and look back on them later. The other part of me, though, knows that standing in my driveway and being overwhelmed by how BIG the sky is in that moment is the best part.
There will be other sunsets, I know that, and a million other little memories to document in photos once I’m able to. Not that I’ve stopped documenting, right now I’m writing so much. It’s different, writing about a sunset. Instead of noticing the colors, I remember how it was the perfect temperature outside, and it hurt my eyes to look right at the sun but I did anyways, because I wanted to see the exact spot where it went behind the mountains. I don’t remember what it looked like, but I remember what it felt like.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words… But I don’t know. Not being able to take pictures… It’s been making me much more intentional with the words I use instead. So I think a picture can say a thousand words easily… But the right ten words can often say more than a picture.
Anyways, I wasn’t trying to get that deep. To close this out, here’s the last picture I took before my camera broke. I love these shoes. That was such a beautiful day… I was on my way to school to help my mom and it was the perfect temperature outside. Ahh, memories.
I’d love to see the random things you’ve taken pictures of in quarantine… Food? Pets? Flowers? Bricks? Feel free to send me pictures (now that I can’t take any! So sad!) at my email gracethieme@gmail.com, or on instagram @gracethieme.