By Valeria Benitez
“Give her 5 minutes till she whips the camera out.” This is what says on the “Maiya’s Memory Card” Instagram. She credits freshman Evvie Bresnahan for the line. If you’ve been at school events, such as football games or parties, then you have probably seen freshman Maiya Tomlin taking her camera out to take pictures.
It all started back in April when Maiya found her sister’s old digital camera. From there she saw on her Pinterest that digital cameras were becoming a trend and she wanted to try it out. She learned how to use her sister’s camera and in June when she was in Nantucket, her friends, Catherine Draughon and Cate Turner, told her it would be fun if she started an Instagram account for the pictures she takes.
“I like how happy everyone looks in the pictures,” Catherine said. She told me how Maiya’s pictures in Nantucket are some of her favorites because they bring her back to the fun memories.
Maiya also enjoys looking back on the pictures she took and the memories she made. “I love how excited my friends get when I bring the camera somewhere because they love the pictures too,” she said.
Every football game I go to I always go all out, knowing that Maiya will be capturing us in our theme-based outfits. The day after a game or party many of us are eager to see her unique take on what we all experienced. It is like opening presents on Christmas day.
“My favorite part of Maiya’s memory card would be scrolling through all the awesome pictures she took of the night and even getting to see some photos she took of me and my friends,” Yehia Hamza told me.
Her pictures make the moment more memorable and lively. “I like how the pictures she takes feel real,” Bridget Valls told me.
It can be hard to curate her photos for Instagram, so she tried to be very organized in terms of categorizing her photos. Pictures that do not make it into a post might later show up under her highlights.
Currently, Maiya uses a Nikon camera to capture the pictures, but she told me she asked for a Polaroid and Fujifilm digital camera for Christmas.
She said she never edits her photos “because I love how they look on their own,” but she does always change the setting to landscape mode because if she doesn’t the flash comes on on auto mode “and it always jumpscares me.”.
Not only does her account focus on school events, but also personal events that mean something to her. She’s had her camera with her on vacations in Colorado and North Carolina and back in Georgia. She recently attended The Eagles Long Goodbye Tour, where she snapped pics before and during the concert (including one cute picture of her dog).
For Kate Wood, it’s all about being able to look back at good times with friends. As Grace Schmidt put it, “Maiya’s memory card keeps the memories flowing forever.”
