Our Little Singing Duo

Usually, if you ask Luke and Abbey to sing together so that you can capture a short video, they shy away.   However, one night as I was cleaning up the kitchen downstairs following dinner, Drew was able to capture a video of Luke and Abbey singing together.   Of course, because he didn't specifically ask them to sing a song together and instead was sneaky with his phone to capture the video, they were not in a "performance" stature.  However, it is nice to at least have some sort of video by which to remember their singing.

Here is the video:

We realized after viewing the video for the first time that Drew's phone camera is filthy. :-) Sorry for the quality.  But any video is better than no video in my opinion.   That is my opinion.  It seems to be contrary to what I have recently seen on news feeds and other blogs lately though.

Recently, I have seen negative press on "taking too many photos or videos".  Apparently, folks say that it impairs your memory, and you "miss out" on moments (you are taking a photo of it instead of being in the moment).  For example,  Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, has long studied the science of memory. She has observed a phenomenon she has called, "photo-taking impairment" effect. She defines this effect as when folks have a hard time remembering something because they took too many photos.  She is mainly basing this on a specific study she conducted, where subjects took pictures of objects at an art museum and were later quizzed about the objects.  These folks remembered fewer details rather than if they had just looked at the objects.

I completely disagree.  Maybe taking too many photos or videos is an issue for some people, but I do not believe it to be an issue for me or our family.  First, the very reason I take photos is to remember something very specific that I have already observed.  For example, there is a certain way that Abbey crosses her legs when she eats.  I have a photo of it. 20 years from now, will I remember the manner in which she crossed her little feet while eating?   Maybe not. But, if I come across that photo I took of her, with her dainty little feet crossed, I will likely smile and remember.  The same goes for videos.  There are very specific ways she says certain words and letters.  I want to remember them, and I can't guarantee my memory will always serve me as well as it does currently.  I want to remember all of Luke's special tricks and his beautiful singing voice.  I want to remember how Luke and Abbey enjoy playing together. I want to remember the sound of their giggles--like in the following video.

Now, don't get me wrong:  I don't walk around with a camera taking photos or videos all the time.  Instead, I experience a moment, and then think, "Oh, I need a photo (or video) of this."  I usually have a specific thing about the moment I want to remember, and I try to compose the photo in a perspective that portrays the emotion of the moment or tells a specific story.  So, I truly do not feel like I have missed out on the moment.  I have enjoyed it and then taken a photo to remember it forever.  I have never regretted taking too many photos or videos.  Honestly, I do not believe the kids have either.  They LOVE to watch old videos of themselves and recall fun moments together.  They really enjoy looking at pictures of friends and family.