Thoughts about video

Djarum

All-Pro
Location
Huntsville, AL
Name
Jason
I got to thinking the other day with my other half about how we have no video. Sure, there are tons of pictures we both have taken of various trips and events in our lives. And to be honest, I've not though much about video. I have zero interest in learning or taking video as a hobby like I do photography. But one day we were watching a TV show and a main character in the show died, and another character in the show was watching the video to reminisce. In many ways, there so much more that can be gained about a person by watching video of them. If I got hit by a bus today I'd be nice if there was some video of me archived so someone could watch. Or video of my girlfriend and maybe kids when we decide to have kids.

Fundamentally, I can't come to grips with the fact I have zero interest in actually taking video.
 
I have a few video clips of my family and certain events. But even those are represented by maybe 2 minutes of video -- like my mother with her birthday cake at 98 years old -- and tons of stills. All I have of my father, who died before video was a big thing, is some stills, but some of those speak to directly to his character that I wouldn't trade them for moving images. And I have a couple of black and white images of my mother that would be what I kept to remember her (when the time comes; she'll be 99 next month) over any of the video I shot.

But I've always felt that black and white portraiture could go to the essence of its subject like no other medium. I realize that's about how I see, but there it is. The video of someone's infectious laugh is thrilling to have, but I wouldn't trade it for this one of my mother taken while she was visiting the southwest with my sister about 15 years ago. It's a snapshot that says so much about who she is. And it's in color, of all things!
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My dad had a stroke in 2002 and lost his ability to speak. He lived another 11 years, watching his grandchildren growing up, but most of them never heard him speak. Thankfully, I've got some video footage from the late 90s.

My cousin died in 2008, leaving behind a husband and 3 year old son. As the years go by, the young son's memories of his mom fade. We have photos and video of his mom, which is some kind of comfort, and I've embarked upon a project to record stories of her told by friends and family so that ten or twenty years from now, when the son wants to know who his mother was, we at least have something for him.

Photos are great. Video is too. It's not an either or. If you don't like taking video, get a small camera with a wide angle like an Panny LX7 and just place it at the end of the table while your sharing a meal or spending time together. Take photos and let the camera run on its own. Video like that isn't going to win an Oscar but for you and your loved ones it will become more and more valuable as the years go by.
 
This is my beloved grandmother, 92 years old, about 2 hours ago. She has been the single most important human being for me all my life and all I ever shot were stills, not a single second of video.
Thanks a bunch for the reminder!

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This is my beloved grandmother, 92 years old, about 2 hours ago. She has been the single most important human being for me all my life and all I ever shot were stills, not a single second of video.
Thanks a bunch for the reminder!

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Oh the stories I bet she could tell! So much family history is spoken, not written. Whenever my mother or someone else is telling a story about the old times I wish I was recording, not just for me, but for descendants 100 years from now...
 
Oh the stories I bet she could tell! So much family history is spoken, not written. Whenever my mother or someone else is telling a story about the old times I wish I was recording, not just for me, but for descendants 100 years from now...

She's been through hell and back more than once during and after WWII with my chronically ill father in her arms and then ...
Her stories are among the worst I have ever heard or read from anybody.

Edit: sorry for the hijack, Jason.
 
No Problem Ken.

I think we are going to find a way to incorporate some video into our lives and store it away. Just not sure the approach to take just yet.

I've heard that my NEX-7 isn't that bad for video, as opposed to the Fujis, but I never pushed that infamous red button once, not even accidentally. I might give it a try next time, but I have no idea at all how to cut or edit the results. I might just store them on my backup HDs and forget about them for some decades. Let's see.
 
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