Through Instagram Eyes

I've spent a lot of time on social media sites over the years. I've likely given hours of my life away to "likes" and "favorites", "reblogs" and "hashtags". I've done it all. But I have to admit, my favorite form of social media to this date has been Instagram. I mean, when I first got it, I thought it was genius - a site to post pictures of how much coffee I drink or what I ate for breakfast?! See - genius! This made photo-taking accessible to me again. I had long traded in my digital camera for an iPhone, and I was never any good at setting up a shot. But Instagram made my pictures look pretty! A feat I felt I couldn't handle without the use of modern technology.

Not too long ago, I went back through my photo album on my phone and realized all of the pictures I've taken over the past few years can only now be relived through a filter. An inaccurate, albeit pretty, recollection of my life. Sure, I love a good Nashville filter as much as the rest. And I love the ease of Instagram. But my photographic memories pre-IG look a lot different. Maybe they're not perfect, but neither is my life. It's messy and sometimes dark. When I'm living life, seeing it with my own two eyes, there's no pretty filter. It's full of emotion, which makes it beautiful in its own way. It can't be cropped into perfect little squares and hashtagged.

some great memories - all unfiltered

I'm not saying I'm giving up IG or using filters on my pictures or going out and buying a new camera. I'm just realizing that maybe those old photographs captured life a lot more accurately. Off-center and blurry. And maybe, "no filter" is actually the best filter after all.

-Liz