A Digital Thanksgiving

Whether we realize it or not, Thanksgiving is the kick start to the holiday season. The kids are back in school, the leaves have fallen from the trees. The weather is cooler, the days are shorter. Christmas commercials now bombard the airwaves to the point where you will be at your desk humming about “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” while writing an email or blog. (Wait, maybe that’s just me.)

I’ve been giving some thought to how I’m going to spend Thanksgiving. If it’s anything like the last few years, it’ll be something along these lines:

– Prepare the food

– Eat the food

– Digest the food

– Catch up on family happenings while debating second helpings of the food

– Wait for sister #1 to propose some deep philosophical conversation

– Queue sister #2 to put deep philosophical conversation on hold long enough to propose going to a movie

– Miss proposed movie because of aforementioned philosophical conversation

– End philosophical conversation with head scratching and a silent moment of contemplation

– Transition into Christmas planning

– Wait for dad to propose dream Christmas vacation to Greece, Bora Bora or Rio de Janeiro (Someday, Dad, someday.)

– Come back to reality and finalize Christmas plans which will include a game of Greed

– Dessert distribution. (Which in the family potluck, is usually my responsibility to bring. Or drinks. I think it’s because no one trusts my cooking.)

– Depart for our respective homes

Ho hum!

This year I want to do something a little different. Over the course of the past few months, I’ve taken a renewed interest in photography. (Blame smartphone apps like Camera+ and Vignette). When looking at something through the eye of a photographer, everything seems different whether it be a candid shot of a stranger, something in nature or a regular activity that could be turned into an amazing “action” shot.

Looking back at some of the pictures I’ve taken for past holidays I realize my photos also are somewhat mundane. Since joining Seagate, I look at things differently in regards to how storage relates to my every day life and I’m more interested in finding creative ways to fill up my hard drive. Thanksgiving is a great way to start.

Why?

For starters, we have a new addition to my family this year. One of my four nephews has a new baby daughter and this will be her first Thanksgiving. As expected with all newborn babies, she will likely be the center of attention and I want to be sure to capture the experience to help make the day memorable.

Second, another nephew and his wife are traveling abroad and won’t be home for another year. This is another first in their not being with us for the holidays. I love that they are out seeing the world, but will definitely miss having them with us. Through pictures, I’ll be able to capture highlight moments to help them feel part of the celebration regardless that they are on the other side of the world.

Without trying to sound “touchy-feely”, photos are a great way to create memories and capture experiences that can be shared and reminisced upon on a whim. Having a digital scrapbook is a perfect answer the question “Remember when…?”. It’s been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words” and if I can capture that one, perfect, picture, nothing else about how we celebrated Thanksgiving needs to be said.

What’s your story on how to make Thanksgiving memorable? Comment below or tweet me @Seagate_Con and share some of your holiday memories.