Do You Remember When ______?

Do you remember when ______?

We hear and ask this question to ourselves and to others more than we think. It is vital that we document different moments in our lives, either digitally or physically, as a way to promote change & awareness, reflection and growth over days, months, years, centuries, and millennia from now. There are tremendous reasons why we should document. As a documentary photographer, I believe documenting memories through visual storytelling, photography, and writing is one of the most powerful ways to preserve culture, history, and human connection.

What does it mean to document? It can mean multiple things, from writing down information to reference at a later date, to freezing a moment or action in time through photography or videography. Essentially, to document means to record something that can be referenced in the future, this can be in any medium. Anyone can document whether it is for personal legacy, personal development, or contributing to a collective history. Documentation can serve as a family archive, visualization of evolution or even a primary source of truth; ensuring all perspectives are not only lived, but remembered.

Legacy & Future Generations

Every family carries stories and histories, both documented and undocumented. We should document these legacies to share with future generations who we are, what we cared about and how we lived our everyday lives. Imagine a future relative observing how you and your family celebrated the holidays, or how you were celebrated during your lifetime. Creating photos, videos, handwritten notes, and other records can inspire future generations and foster a deeper understanding of where they come from. 

Personal Development

Another way we can incorporate documenting in our lives is by tracking growth and progress. This can be tied to an assignment, task or skill we are developing. For example, imagine you started to learn how to repair your clothing without prior experience. By documenting your work, you see how intricate and advanced your skills have developed over time through before and after comparisons. This creates a visual record of change and personal evolution.

Collective History

History is often shared from the top down. Recently, I read HUGO (Hell Under God’s Orders) by Gloria I. Joseph and Hortense M. Rowe, which provided an in-depth perspective on how individuals in St. Croix experienced and responded to Hurricane Hugo in September of 1989. One of the most destructive storms to hit the Caribbean. Personal accounts like these are ground truth. They reveal how people actually lived through historical events, beyond official records and headlines.

Documenting as a Documentary Photographer

Documenting is essential to bringing forth awareness to local and global issues through visual storytelling. As a documentary photographer, I use my camera as a tool to explore culture, environment, and human connection. Through projects like the Black Heritage Tree Project, I have been documenting trees as living witnesses, spiritual healers, archivists  in cities including Tulsa, St. Croix, Galveston, and Houston. The trees bridge the gap between environment and culture; the trees are living witness to our stories.

As mentioned, it's important to document all memories and stories. Most importantly what matters to you! This can look different for everyone: capturing photographs and/or videos that resonate with you,collecting objects that hold a personal meaning and journaling your experiences and thoughts.

Document Document Document! You’ll never regret it months,years and decades from now. It shapes how history is remembered.