ƒ/8 AND BE THERE

As a photographer, I will always live life through my own eyes and heart, never a lens. If a shot presents itself, I will take it, but never at the expense of a missed memory or moment with the ones I love. The best photos that I’ll ever take as a photographer are the shots that nobody else will ever see.

Although these aren’t the exact words of my Father, these are the principles that he taught me from a very young age. While looking through the lens, you may be creating art or documenting an experience. But it’s just that — documenting. Not experiencing.

Sometimes you just have to pull the viewfinder away from your eye to fully experience a moment, even if it means missing a shot. As soon as I was old enough to hold a camera, my Father taught me that the lens was simply a vessel to transport me to these experiences and memories — regardless of whether or not I fired the shutter. I’ve lost count of the number of once-in-a-lifetime shots that I’ve missed because I was caught up in the moment — and I don’t regret those missed shots one bit.

But the last line of that quote truly resonates, “the shots that nobody else will ever see.” Famed street photographer Garry Winogrand passed away in the ’80s leaving over 9,000 rolls of undeveloped or unseen film. My Father seems to have walked a similar path, leaving behind around a thousand backup discs containing a quarter million photos captured over the past twenty years.

In this world of forced selfies and fake Instagram likes, my Father’s passion for photography was so pure — his love was for the experience and living the moment, rather than showing off the final photograph.

Whenever I asked to see what he’d been working on, he opted to tell me stories of where he’d been and what he’d seen — rather than to show me his portfolio. My Father kept all his photos hidden from the world — and hidden from me.

Only now that I’ve lost my Father, and discovered this hidden world, can I retrace the path that he took, and finally experience the world through his eyes.

A remembrance of Bob Hamor for close friends and family was held on Saturday, September 22, 2018 on Lovell Lake.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider making a donation in Bob’s name to the New Hampshire Veterans Home Resident Benefit Fund. The New Hampshire Veterans Home is where Bob was taken care of, and we can’t speak highly enough of their wonderful services.

Letters may be sent to:

Bob Hamor, C/O Sean Sosik-Hamor, PO Box 764, Pelham, NH 03076-0764