My love for photography stems from a memory I have from twelve years ago. Back then, I was an impressionable nine year old, who enjoyed spending time with her father more than anything else. That was when we still had father-daughter days, while my mom and older sister were out shopping together. I can still remember one day, my father decided that we would spend the day at the Tennessee Aquarium, an idea that I was overjoyed with. For as long as I can remember, I have been infatuated with the ocean and all of its creatures, maybe that stems from Finding Nemo which was my favorite Disney movie at the time. Whatever the reason for my infatuation, I was brimming with excitement to spend the day at the Tennessee Aquarium with my father.
I remember surprising my father that morning when I jumped right out of bed rather than our usual routine of me mumbling “I’m up. I’m up.” before I would curl back inside my cocoon of blankets and succumb to the sleep that called my name. This was a process that usually repeated itself three or four times each morning, before I was finally forced out of bed. So, you can imagine my father’s surprise that morning when our routine was broken. I couldn’t possibly go back to sleep that morning, I was far too excited to see all of the fish, sharks, and turtles at the aquarium.
Luckily, momma had picked out my clothes for me the night before. I ran across the icy, wooden floor to the bathroom to get dressed in my fuzzy, pink sweater and favorite Bobby Jack jeans. Once I put on my clothes, I grabbed my light pink, Hello Kitty socks, and my Skechers twinkle toes and headed towards the kitchen. While walking through the hallway, I could hear my father’s tell-tale whistling, something he normally did while making my sister and I breakfast every morning. By this point, I am close enough to the kitchen that I can hear the popping of the grease on the griddle as my father cooks us some bacon, my favorite breakfast food. He always understood what I wanted without me having to tell him, that was one of my favorite things about him. I was a daddy’s girl through and through.
After breakfast, my father told me it was time to head out. We made our way out the front door, locking it behind us, and down the porch steps towards the garage. Climbing into my father’s old, gray KIA, we started the hour and half drive to Chattanooga. I faintly remember listening to 2000 country hits on 102.1 WDRM radio, but other than that I don’t remember much about the drive, I always seemed to zone out while we were driving. After the drive was finally over and we had arrived at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, I was overwhelmed with awe. This was the first time I had been to Chattanooga, that I could remember anyway, and it was so different from my small hometown. There were tons of people bustling around the area, and the buildings were so much taller than any I had seen at home. I distinctly remember my father tightly gripping my hand, as if he was afraid I would disappear, and holding a small blue object in his other hand. Curious as to what the object was, I pulled on my father’s hand to signal I wanted his attention.
“What is that daddy?” I ask, pointing to the blue object in his hand.
“That is our camera. I thought we could take some pictures to show your mom what we did today.” He replied, pulling me in closer to his side.
Letting it go for the moment, I followed him to the ticket booth. Greeted by a line that seemed a mile long, I looked at my father and tried to pry the camera from his hands.
Hoping it would keep me occupied while in line, my father released the camera into my hands. Observing the object, I noticed that while its body was mostly blue, there were several silver buttons on it. Unsure as to what the buttons did, or how to turn the camera on, I looked towards my father for an explanation.
“Daddy, what do all these buttons do?” I asked him.
“Well, this button is the power button.” He said as he pointed towards the big, silver button on the top of the camera. “You slide this little notch towards the left, and the camera turns on. Then, if you slife the little notch back towards the right, the camera turns off.”
I watch in awe as he demonstrates how to turn the camera on and off. When he turned the camera on, the little screen lit up and I could see my Skechers twinkle toes appear on the screen. In my fascination with the camera, I hadn’t even noticed that we were now at the front of the line. Finally time to see the fish!
We were making our way through the various displays in the aquarium, when I caught a glimpse of orange and white.
“Nemo!” I yelled with excitement. “Come on daddy! This way!”
I ran towards the clownfish exhibit, dragging my father behind me. I turned towards my father, smiling from ear to ear.
“Take my picture with Nemo daddy!” I plead. “Okay baby. Stand in front of the glass, and say ‘Cheese!’” He instructed me.
“Cheese!” I say, smiling so big that my cheeks started to hurt.
I see the bright light of the camera flash, indicating that the picture had been taken.
“Let me see! Let me see!” I demanded.
My father, never one to deny me, knelt down to my height and turned the camera so I could see. The picture perfectly captured my large smile, and the vibrant colors of the clownfish in the tank behind me. Happy with the image, I give my father a kiss on the cheek, my own way to show that I approved of the picture.
“Your turn daddy!” I demand. “Momma needs to see pictures of you too!” Agreeing to my request, he showed me how to use the camera to take a photo. First, I had to turn little notch to the left to turn the camera on. Then I had to make sure what I wanted to see, was in the middle of the screen. Once that was done, I had to hold the big, silver button down until a green square appeared on the screen. Whenever the green square appeared, it was time to take the picture.
“Remember, green means go.” Instructed my father.
Green means go. I repeated those words in my head for the rest of the day. After taking the photo of my father, I commandeered the camera for the rest of our trip. I ran through exhibit after exhibit, snapping photos of every fish that caught my eye, hoping to remember this day forever. My father even promised that we could get all of the photos printed off at Walmart on the way home. I was so excited!
Admittedly, the pictures weren’t great, since it was the first time I had used a camera. However, ever since that day I have loved photography, I even do photography sessions on the side now to make some extra money. Photography has become a huge part of my life, and something that I have spent hours upon hours learning new tips and tricks to improve my talent. It is all thanks to my father and our trip to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
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