Thanksgiving is upon us, and that means, among other things, it’s time to sit back and give thanks for all the wonderful things that life has given us. For one long four-day weekend, all the stress and struggles of our daily lives can be thrown to the side, and we can simply reflect on the positives in the world- and usually, we get to do so with those closest to us.

But once we’ve worked our past our family, our friends, and our health on the list of things we need to be grateful for, let’s go a little bit deeper and think about some of the things that we love to do most. For us at Tumbleston Photography, that includes capturing some of the most special moments in your lives with digital photography (link to portfolio). And since the world of photography has come such a long way since its inception that on this holiday of being thankful, we feel it’s worth taking a few seconds to marvel at just how amazing digital photography is today.

In particular, here are three things we feel that every photographer should be thankful for.

How quick taking pictures can be!

Back in the early days of photography, posing for your picture could take several minutes. The photographic materials were not sensitive to light and colors, and so most exposures lasted for several seconds at a time. During this time, the subject would have to remain perfectly still, and the camera would have to be balanced on a stand in order to ensure that it, too, remained perfectly still. That’s not the case today! Traditional exposures in the 2020s take well under a second, meaning a far easier time for both the photographer and the subject.

The earth’s beauty

Sometimes, nothing can compare to simply staring at the orange setting sun behind a dark blue horizon and pink-red clouds, the pure green and brown hues of the forest, or the turquoise water of the ocean lapping up against white sand. It sure can be incredible to look at- and it can be even more incredible if these lovely scenes are the backdrops for some pictures! Whether you’re taking pictures for your Christmas card, your fridge, or simply for a new Facebook profile picture, displaying the earth’s natural beauty around you can make an otherwise great photograph a truly unforgettable one.

Smartphone cameras

At the turn of the century, the idea of a phone that could take incredible pictures seemed like science-fiction. But here we are, in a world where smartphones can take some astonishingly great pictures. It’s true that professional-grade photography studios are equipped with cameras that can do so much more than a standard smartphone camera. But even still, it’s worth marveling at the far technology has come- and while you can’t always have a professional photographer on hand with you, most people have their smartphones on them at all times. This means that when that special moment that just begs for a picture unexpectedly comes around, you can be prepared for the occasion- and capture the moment in some impressively high quality.