• So this week I made people cry. I'm generally, a happy, sunshiny person, as most of you all know - I don't relish in going around making people shed tears. In fact, it's my self-appointed job to go round and cheer people up whether they like it or not. I felt totally gutted at having done so, but you know what?! I was assured that making people cry with my photographs was ok and that I did a good thing. You see, my grandma passed away last week, and the last photo I seem to have of her before she got sick was this one below:
That's my baby sister sitting with her - she's now 27 years old. I guess when people get sick, you don't think to take photographs so much - especially when, at times, visits can be on the somber side. I won't go into too much detail out of respect for my family and for my lovely Grandma but life didn't seem all that much fun for her, or even my granddad over the last 25 years, so when the smiles were out, I made sure to capture them on camera. I even captured some of the sad times too - just for me. My Grandma had such an awesome spirit - even when ill, you could see the naughtiness in her eyes. She'd come home from day care with a new boyfriend each time and loved to flirt with and grope my boyfriends as they passed her the sandwiches she asked for from across the furthest side of the dinner table.
These are a handful of photos of her which I took over the past 10 years. They aren't my best photos and they are probably unlikely to make it up onto a gallery wall. They're just snaps. Taken thoughtlessly. But when I got some printed for family after I heard what happened, I had no idea of the effect they'd have on my close family.
"Don't be sorry Mazzy. Beautiful photos. You captured her the way we discussed today. You are a people photographer. I love those photos so much. Thank you. These are tears her memory deserves... in just a few photos you have captured Nanny. The photos are quite the most amazing pressie anyone has ever given me xxx"
So take more photos. Not just selfies, not just of your dinner. Who cares if you think you look shit, fat, ugly - you never know when they're going to mean the world to someone <3 xxx
