WINTER BECOMES SPRING BECOMES SUMMER.
Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 10:22PM 
They say the best camera is the one that you have with you. Most of us keep our phones with us at all times, and in one sense, that's great because you have a capable digital point-and-shoot camera on you at all times to document the world around you. Instagram, Facebook, twitpics and Tumblrs have more or less taken over our social consciousness when it comes to photos. But I can't help but feel like something is lost in the process.
I have fond memories rediscovering old photo albums from my childhood. Actually, a nearly 30-year-old photo of my wife and I as toddlers surfaced in my in-laws' storage unit just a few months ago, from when we lived in the same apartment building in New York City in the 80's. I want to be able to give my children tangible photos and film negatives down the road. Properly stored, film negatives will far outlast any hard drive. So while it's great that you can have your photos accessible anywhere from the cloud, do you really want your family's visual history stored on a nameless server somewhere in rural West Virginia?
I recently got a Leica M6 again, which is always with me on family outings. I've started leaving my phone at home, which helps me to be more present with my wife and boys when we're out at the park, or at dinner, or wherever. I don't want my family to feel they have to battle my phone for my attention, and it has been so liberating. Leave your phone at home. You can always share your memories later.
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