Every now and then, as I'm scrolling through the photographs saved on my phone, I come across a picture that brings me back to the specific time that the photograph was taken. I recall and relive those moments before the photo was taken. I'm able to remember the minuet, insignificant details of the remainder of the time following the photo.

I got into photography in middle school and have been taking pictures ever since. My mother collects photo books that my sister and I flip through whenever we're in need of some melancholic reminiscing or jubilant reminding of our past. The photo books are scattered with happy pictures, sad pictures, confused pictures, and everything in between, displaying the wide array of emotions that photos can depict.

Whenever I travel with my family, I always make sure to have a camera with me. I love trying to capture everything that I see; to see the beauty surrounding me and try to translate that with a camera and lens. That is not to say that photos cannot be manipulated. Photoshop, Lightroom, and other photo-editing applications allow for color manipulation and distortion, but they can also enable realistic editing features to allow the photo to come across as more lifelike.

Some people claim that cameras take away from actually experiencing anything and make you more passive and less engaged in your own life. I think this can be the case if you're fiddling with a camera phone as you travel someplace new, but by balancing digital technology and human activity, you can conquer the most realistic artistic result and still cherish and experience each occurrence.

Photographs are one of the few permanent aspects in our all-too-short, temporary lives. Photos, at the time they're being taken, can be manipulated or candidly immersed in reality, but they show us how we felt at a very particular moment in time. When we retell stories of the past, we often fabricate or over exaggerate our feelings at the time, but photos can capture true emotions. They can tell us if we were genuinely happy or putting up a fake front; if we were seriously solemn or in a state of deep reflection. Photos portray the most accurate representation of ourselves and others and can track periods of our lives better and more precisely than almost any other art form.

I'm a huge endorser of taking photos and believe that they add so much to your life. So next time you're out with friends or doing something new, try taking a photo, and twenty years from now you can look back at that photo and remember how you felt.