It seems like only yesterday my Mom would put together a new photo album. We would all get really excited about it, taking turns flipping through the glossy pages of memories. This experience was often the first time we got to see the pictures.
Back then you had to wait for the roll of film to be completely used up (often times spanning months, it was not unusual for a roll of film to contain a birthday, a school performance, and 1/3 of a new year evening). Once the roll was finally used, it had to be driven to a studio store where they would take at least one week to develop it. Then, you finally got to see all the pictures that didn't come out. How I miss those :(
It is amazing how photos have become the complete oppposite of what they used to be. You can now immediately see your picture and judge whether you need to take another one. Now you don't even buy or develop film EVER. You have hundreds if not thousands of available pictures as opposed to 36. And in place of photo albums, we now have the slideshow.
Times are changing, and to be honest, I don't know how I feel about it. I miss having a physical picture and a photo album that won't change for decades. I can still see my parents photo albums if I want. What are our grandkids going to do? Plug in a USB drive? !!!.
Having all my photos on Facebook and saved on my computer makes me feel kind of vulnerable. For instance, what if hypothetically Facebook crashed and everyone lost years of memories? Ever think about that? Or what if my computer and hard drive are stolen? .
There is no use fighting the digital wave. We must ride it or be left behind, and it pains me to say that I must continue without my old friend the photograph. But we are the last generation to know what it was like. Savor it my friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment