Slideshow Experience

My sister just finished a two-day spiritual retreat for women. I was invited to attend the closing ceremony last night. Throughout the retreat, a photographer had taken photos of the goings-on (skits, exercises, talks, group discussion) and they were displayed on a big screen in a continuous loop in the school gym where the after-ceremony social was held. It was clear that the photographer was sensitive to the private nature of the experience (it was, after all, a retreat) and had only captured its lighter moments.

It was a great way for us to get a glimpse into how our mother, daughter, wife, friend — or in my case, sister — had spent the past two days and to see firsthand how bonds grew during that shared emotional journey.

The slideshow reinforced for me how it's expected that every get-together will be captured with digital images. Facebook has ushered in an era of rampant photo-sharing. We have a professional photographer at PCMA's Annual Meeting for the print dailies and encourage our attendees to take photos and post them to a flickr page.

When it comes to events, I say the more photos, the better.