Memories of Christmas the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas 2010, I can hardly believe that I will be celebrating my 57th Christmas. As I was sitting with my 2 year old grandson Mason watching Santa Claus the movie, I started thinking about how Christmas and the Christmas holiday have changed since I was his age.


While I don't have many early childhood memories I do remember some of my early Christmas. Most are fleeting glimpses of people and things but I do remember being held by my grandmother Hanks as we gathered around my mother at the piano. I remember feeling and hearing her sing as I sat on her lap. Her gentle aged hands helping me to lead the rest of the family as we sang Christmas songs.

Disneyland a photographer’s playground.

When most of us hear or think of Disneyland we think about a wonderful place for both the young and old. Visions of happy faces, vivid memories, and of course all of your favorite Disney characters.


While Disneyland is a magical place for young and old alike it is also a photographer's playground. With all of the buildings, characters and sets from favorite movies a photographer has unlimited opportunity to create fun and unique images. Disneyland was intended to be a visual playground for the mind. The buildings are designed to make Sleeping Beauty castle seem larger as you walk down Main Street. Color explodes all around you from the brightly decorated window displays. Unique architecture and beautiful landscapes abound.



The prospects for beautiful pictures are everywhere. The wonderful thing about Disneyland is that you do not have to be a professional photographer to create beautiful pictures.

The professional photographers from Kodak and the designers at Disney have spent a lot of time planning the perfect photo places for you. As you travel around the park you will find signs telling you that this is a Kodak picture spot.

They even have posted a picture so that you can see how your finished images should look.  All you have to do is gather your kids, family and friends in the right spot. Press the button. Oh don't forget turn on the camera and remove the lens cap. 

Now if you are a little more creative you can find your special and unique spot for your photo. 

Look around you they are everywhere. 

With the ease of today's digital cameras you have just created those special images that will bring back all of the wonderful memories of your visit  To the Magic Kingdom.

Moms and cameras.

While attending my grandson Blake's soccer game last week I really notice a new accessory item for women and moms in particular. A digital camera. Small point and shoot cameras, prosumer models and full blown professional cameras. Most of the cameras that I saw were smaller point and shoot models. In a variety of different colors, blue ones, red ones, green ones, big ones little ones. Dr. Seuss could write a new book about them. Mothers, frantically trying to catch that perfect photo. Well maybe not the perfect photo but a least one of their child on the field.

The mothers would share with each other the pictures they had taken each in turn viewing the display window of each other’s cameras. Smiles, comments and laughter abounded as each shared the pictures on their camera.



Now this brings up a new set of problem for most people. How do I show off my pictures? Most people have mastered turning on their camera and which button to press to take a picture. Some have even figured out how to take their camera off auto but they struggle with getting the pictures out of the camera and into a format that others can view and enjoy their pictures.

Several of my friends have asked me how to get more images on their camera because their memory card was full. The simple answer is getting a bigger memory card. However this is not the best answer to this problem.

Thankfully along with the growth of digital cameras the ability to display and share your photos have never been easier. The internet is specially geared to become your personal gallery. Many programs are available to download, most for free, that will help you process your images. Sites like Google, MySpace and Facebook have several different ways to help you share your photos. The new smart phones all have the ability to take a photo and then up load it for you to share with the world.

So get out that dreaded instruction manual that came with your camera or smartphone and get your photos off your camera and into your gallery.