The photographic explosion
Sunday, June 23, 2024 at 08:41AM
Harbor on the island of Ven, Denmark
Taken on my most recent trip abroad, I uploaded 236 digital photos to storage. That averages out to about 20 pictures a day. And that is after weeding duplicates, poor shots, and “what the hell is that?” subjects.
With the invention of digital photography, especially in cell phones, I find it difficult to determine whether I should take a photo of something or not. Who needs yet one more picture of the pyramids or the Statue of Liberty or a mountain valley? (My son takes a photo of every meal he eats, I think.) At what point do we have such a flood of personal photos available, they somehow dilute rather than enhance our memories?
Back in the bad old days of my youth, one thought carefully about taking a picture with one’s Polaroid, Kodak, or Pentax since every shot cost money. You paid for the film, of course, but also the flash bulb (or cube), the processing, the printing and the album in which those shiny pieces of paper were organized and stored. Judging from my recent project of scanning old photo albums from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, I did not throw many photos away due to bad composition, lack of focus, or “what the hell is that?” subjects.
For whom do we take photos and why? I certainly love to bore people with my pictures and the presentations I make which incorporate them. Family photos comprise the calendar I create for my siblings, mother, and children. I throw a few pics in my blog posts from time to time.
But perhaps more than anything, I take them for myself. To kindle warm fires of memory - of small children being held, of challenging adventures being accomplished, of a life being lived, both sweet and bittersweet. Somehow photographs prove one has actually been there, done that, got the shirt.
One photographer I admire is my friend Tim who lives in the Washington DC area. He fairly regularly posts his photos on his blog, Assorted Stuff. He views photography as an art form and answered my query about why we take photos in this thoughtful email:
Your question about why we take so many photos is a good one, and lots of people I talk to can’t really answer it for themselves. "What do you do with all those images?" has been a major topic in the smartphone camera classes I’ve taught over the past five years. Most of my students (largely retirees) leave with some ideas to consider but no real solutions.
For me, it’s a hobby, of course. But I still regularly reflect on why I enjoy it and where I want to take my photography next. I agree that the world probably doesn’t need another shot of an iconic site like the Statue. Which is why I try to find a perspective that is slightly different from what others might see.
I suspect that unless we are a recognized photographer like Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz our images will fade over generations. With some small curiosity I look at photos of my parents in their youth, my grandparents, and various relatives posed in dress clothes staring at the camera with serious looks on their faces, captured forever in black and white. Despite being insusceptible to deterioration like their print cousins, my digitals may well last long into the future. As long as there is power to the remote server on which they are held.
But perhaps we should paraphrase another question: If a photo exists, but there is no one to view it, does it matter?
Oh, a photo from my most recent restaurant meal…
Reader Comments (7)
really...food?!
Those black and white posed family photos of the past were something of an event. For many years, somewhere around the first day of school, my parents would dress us up and take us all down to the photo studio at Sears for a family portrait. I suppose it was mother's way of documenting change but the results were always put on display in the living room for visitors to remark on.
Today that's largely been replaced by the selfie, a shot that was very difficult to take before the advent of cell phone cameras, posted to social media. People are now regularly recording for posterity that they were actually in a particular place, whether that's a world-class icon like the Eiffel Tower or just Thursday night at the bar with a group of friends. What happens to those images in the long run is another question. And likely the topic of many anthropological doctoral dissertations.
Thanks for the mention, Doug, and for some food for thought.
I've got a whole photo album of pictures taken at Sears (or someplace similar) of me and my siblings. Different times...
Doug
Not sure what kind of pie that is, but I love it. Good shot,😋
Sour cream raisin pie, Joy. Hard to take a bad picture of good pie.
Doug
Doug, I love when friends share their travel pictures and sometimes wish I could transport myself into the pictures to take the trip along with them. I learn so much through other's travel photos. I take a lot of photos when I travel so I can remember details I'm afraid I will forget as I age...you have traveled to destinations I had not considered. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Lisa,
Nice to hear from you and thanks for the affirming note. I, too, love seeing photos of other's travels!
Doug