Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Things I Love: A Fresh Perspective
Whilst on vacation, I captured lots and lots of video. Usually I video tape (“digitally capture” is what it should be called these days, I guess) very little. So what, you ask? Stop me if I’ve mentioned this before, but when my Mom passed away at 58-years-old, it was fun looking through old pictures of her. What was even better was catching a rare glimpse of her on some of the home movies my Dad used to make. She HATED being on camera – still images or otherwise.
My Dad got some good home movies back in the day, but not enough. And all of them without sound. You’d think when the 1970s gave way to the 1980s and the 1990s, Dad would’ve had a video camera and continued taking video. Well, he did, but not much, and we don’t have much video of my Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, or any other relatives who’ve passed on. I wish we did. I wish I could fire up a DVD or an old VHS and watch my Dad annoy my Mom and insist on video taping her making her apple pie, or blond brownies, or anything else she was famous for baking. I wish there was video of my Mom sitting on the shore of Torch Lake enjoying a drink and reading a good book, and I wish someone would’ve shot some video of her doing it, even though she would’ve been very annoyed.
In those moments, video like that would probably seem silly, right? Who wants a video of their mother cooking and/or reading a book? My guess is …everyone.
Flash forward to my vacations and my videos. Recently, my kids asked me to show them movies from when they were babies and luckily I have some footage …not much, but some. And ya know what? Even the limited footage I have, the kids want to watch it …over and over and over again. Show me a rainy or snowy Saturday morning and give my kids the choice between watching a Phineas & Ferb marathon or home movies, they’ll always pick home movies. They have a thing for nostalgia, just like me.
While on this recent vacation I shot lots and lots of video, but the best stuff was shot by my kids, actually. Or at least I think so. Which gives me a new idea and a fresh perspective. One …give your kids your video camera and let them shoot some video. You’ll love it because it’s different. Two …make ’em wear the wrist strap but don’t mention the camera is worth $200 or $1,000, otherwise you’ll stress them out and they won’t have any fun. Three …shoot alotta video and capture alotta memories.
*** Note: I’m not a licensed videographer. My son is not a licensed videographer.
Here’s my son on vacation interviewing everyone after an another amazing meal at Pearl’s in Elk Rapids. See what I mean? It’s our vacation from his perspective. And someday, many years down the road, I’m guessing it’ll give me a different perspective.
*** Note: My angry face and growling at the end was a result of 8-years as a parent and my 8-yr-old was about to rip the camera from my 6-yr-old causing (a) a fight, (b) crying by someone, or (c) a fight with crying by everyone. I nipped that in the bud.
Don Kowalewski 