As a child one of my favourite hobbies was taking out the photo albums and looking through the old photos they held. In fact I would visit relatives houses on a Sunday afternoon and if they had albums lying around or on the bookshelves I would sit cross legged where I would while away the time losing myself in the memories that the pictures held.

It is therefore ironic that sometime in the future (in my teenage years) I would start what turned out to be the longest time spent in a career in the photography industry. I absolutely loved it, here I was literally spending time developing the photos of others, looking after their cherished memories; seeing the joy on their faces as they opened the wallet to view the developed images used to make me smile and at times feel their joy too.

In today’s digital world while your phone or computer often brings to attention memories of yesteryear it isn’t quite the same for me, to me I love the feel of the photo album and the stories that its contents tell. I guess the young know no difference though and maybe see their phone photo account in the same way.

I believe that taking time to look back at old photos and therefore memories can evoke a sense of well-being, bringing a smile as you relive a moment in time.

The photo above certainly took me back to a day when I enjoyed a restaurant lunch with my friend and mentor Mark Wright. The sun shone, we ate well and chatted as we watched the world go by in the shadow of Tower Bridge in London. The photo always brings a smile as not only does it remind me of this day but indeed all the great days I spent living in London in my youth (working in that photo lab)  

So take some time to look back at some old photos and relive some of your favourite moments, embrace why they make you smile, share them with family and friends - maybe even if you are old enough get out that old photo album of your youth and look back at memories of old. 

Photos are a great reminder to us all to live in the moment, capture it if you can as one day that moment (good or bad) will be a memory so make it a good one!