The Editing Room

Many of you know about my compulsion to label and organize every picture this family has taken since we went digital. (Okay, the non-digital ones are in albums and also organized and labeled...but we didn't have kids yet as someone once pointed out). Can I just tell you that this latest wedding might put me over the edge? Not only do we have over 300 pictures of our own from this blessed event, but we also have over 700 more from "Dad's Camera". I'm afraid that file labeled "Dad's Camera" will just have to be left as is. I will be labeling pictures from this wedding on their golden anniversary at this rate. (I do have other things to do, you know. Well, of course, you know. It would seem that I don't know. I have a problem. I need to do other things and not let it bother me that a group of pictures is labeled things like "DSC_0002". It's okay. Really, okay.)

Honestly I like to look at all of the pictures and organize them and edit them. It is something I enjoy doing...but this time we've gone too far. This time? Ha!

I'll never forget my first TSE family function. Our little niece, (though at the time she was Joey's little niece as we were just dating) Meghan, was being christened. I had never, ever seen so many cameras in my life. Every millisecond of the entire day was photographically documented. It looked like a press conference with the AP. I kept waiting for someone to put a microphone up to her little mouth to ask her how she was feeling on this special day.

Over the years, it has become so normal for me to see almost every family member with a camera and to have almost every moment carefully documented. (Even one moment on our wedding day where you can actually see steam coming out of my head as I glared angrily at my soon to be husband and then at my soon to be brother-in-law, Meghan's dad, as he joked, "Isn't it bad luck for you guys to see each other right now?"--Yes, and it probably wasn't good luck that I was throwing a temper tantrum in front of my new family--all on tape.) I'm sure there are many, many other moments I'd rather not know about. But you know what? Now it is my life. I can't imagine not recording every single moment.

I love that my in-laws have silent film of their 6 children growing up. Hours and hours that have been compiled and put on VHS. Thanks to this I was able to see a video of the 5 older siblings peeking at my husband in the newborn nursery and someone holding up what appears to be a gallon of ice cream for him to "see". Hey, if there's ever a reason to celebrate with ice cream, it is the birth of a new baby brother!

I digress...

The reason for all of this frantic searching through pictures and videos is simple. I would like to post some great ones here. I don't want to disappoint a very loyal and complimentary reader. But honestly this is like a full time job! That is why there are so many different ways of labeling "editors" along with a long list of names when the credits roll on a movie. This is hard! So, I have not yet put together a really fun video from the wedding like I wanted to. I hope to in time, put one together. Until then, this post is all I've got for a very special reader in Buffalo, who is also a lot of fun, ALWAYS smiling and quite a dancer.

Auntie Kathy Dancing with Mariachis from tsechief on Vimeo.

(As you can see in the video, if the photographer is not assertive enough, the view is quickly blocked by those who have been TSEs for life and the voice you hear is my husband's dismay at my inexperience "Get a picture, get a picture, get a picture!" Honey, I'm pretty sure it's covered).