The First Photo I Ever Took (and Why It Still Matters Today)

Is it blurry? Yep.
Is there a random stranger walking straight through the middle of it? Absolutely.
Is it a photographic masterpiece? Not even close.

But I love it anyway.

It was around 1984, and I was about 4 years old. My mom, my older sister, and I were at Disney in Florida, visiting from New York. I remember being handed the camera (a film one, of course, because 1984) and getting ready to take a photo of my mom and sister sitting on a bench. I lined it up (I think I lined it up?), clicked the shutter, and… right as I snapped it, people walked directly through the frame.

And that was it. No checking the back of the camera. No retaking it on the spot. Just that one click... and likely a solid week or more before we’d even see what had happened. That’s how it was back then. You had one chance, and a lot of hope.

Somehow, this photo didnt get tossed. And Im SO so glad it didnt. Maybe not because of its technical skill (because, let’s be real...), but because it marked something bigger. It was my first. The first time I looked through a lens and tried to freeze a moment. The first time I understood the magic of photography - even if that magic had a stranger walking right through it.

My mom actually took the next photo I’m sharing — one of my sister and me from that same day.