I have a confession to make

So I have a confession to make.

Here goes.

I am a photo hoarder. I was looking in an application I use to back up my photos and I was shocked: in a little over two years I’ve acquired 10,898 photos. That’s 3,979 photos in 2013; 5,613 photos in 2014 and so far, in 2015, 1,298 (mind you, it’s only April). Clearly this problem is escalating for me.

Gasp.

What could I possibly have taken photos of to get my storage up to 10,898? Well, a little bit of everything. So, let’s take a trip into my photo storage and find out what’s in there. I’ve listed them below, in no particular order.

First, moments. Moments are so precious to me. Every single moment with a family member, friend or just out on a walk. I save ’em. And I could probably tell you the story behind at least 90 percent of those photos. I have a photographic memory, really.

Second, events. As a journalist, even if I’m not covering something, I take a ton of photos. Parades. Commission meetings. Accident and fire scenes. Family events. I can acquire 100 photos at a parade or family event. I’m constantly sneaking photos to the point where I turn the sound off my phone so nobody notices when I am grabbing the candids.

Third, my daily life. I love taking snapshots of my daily life. The flowers I saw on a walk. Sunrises. Sunsets. The way the street lights look through rain drops on a car window. The little dog on my route that I watched grow from a small puppy to the large dog he is today. Of course, there are my own dogs. I have  hundreds of pictures of them. Let’s not forget the barn cats I have at my house. Probably another couple of hundred. 

Fourth, downloads and screenshots. Ok, so I’ll admit, I don’t need to save these. But, I’ll call this one simply lazy. I just don’t feel like deleting them out of my storage.

Fifth, trips. This one is a major weakness for me. I take hundreds of photos — per trip. I document nearly each building I see, including the fine details of the architecture. Trees. Sunsets. The view from wherever I’m staying — multiple times a day. And of course, detail shots of the entire area I’m staying whether it’s a cabin or a hotel.

And yes, I take selfies. It’s interesting to look back on photos of myself — it’s amazing to see how much you change in a couple of years. Some of the more quirky pictures in my photo storage are hilarious selfies my mom and I sent back and forth to each other. We both swore we’d never show them to anyone else. They make me laugh just seeing them. But don’t tell my mom I saved hers!

So, why do I need 10,898 photos? The memories of course and not to mention photography is a passion of mine and relieves stress for me. Do I plan on getting rid of any? Maybe the memes I don’t need or the screenshots, but the others, no. Photos are snapshots into our lives. I love to sit back sometimes and just review all mine. Sometimes I laugh. Sometimes I cry at the people and animals that in just a couple of short years are no longer in my life.

So, while I clearly have a problem with photo hoarding, at least they’re store digitally. Well, most of them anyway. We won’t dive into the boxes of CDs and boxes of print photos that I acquired prior to digital photography.