Once upon a lifetime we talked about going to have our film developed and marveled about Polaroid pictures that you could see come to life in front of your eyes. Once upon a lifetime we got excited because instead of waiting days to see if our shots had come out we waited hours and then an hour.
Now my kids haven’t a clue what I am talking about when I mention 110, 126, 35 MM or the Kodak disk camera I received for my Bar-Mitzvah.
They expect to see instant results from the snapshots we take and then wonder if we really need to develop them because we can always look at them on a computer, smartphone or iPad.
Sometimes I wonder about that too.
Photo Albums
It took about ten minutes to make that photo collage and that was because I was multitasking. Yeah, I can do two things at once.
I don’t have to worry about whether those shots will get stuck to the pages of a photo album that isn’t properly treated. I don’t have to worry about whether those shots will be torn because someone tries to pull them out of the album.
But I do have to be concerned about whether someone will download them and do something to them because that could happen. Once you post something online you lose control of the content you have posted.
I don’t spend much time worrying about whether something bad will happen or if someone will do something that I do not like. Some of that is because I know it is going to happen. If you post enough content someone will steal your material and use it.
It has happened to me more than once.
For a while some lady in Malaysia was grabbing posts and publishing them, beats the hell out of me why she was doing it. When I asked her to stop she never responded and then she cut off comments.
The blog disappeared so I don’t know if she kept doing it elsewhere or not.
Things To Be Concerned About?
Pictures are a bit different, especially when you aren’t the only in them. It is possible that someone could take these photos and cause trouble but I tend not to worry about that either.
It is a bit like not wanting to leave the house because you might get hit by a car. It is possible, but chances are it won’t happen.
Instead I look at those shots and try to remember things I might have forgotten. I look at those shots and think about the moments because the little people aren’t so little any more.
Life Never Stops
It is funny how that happens. Those shots of me are all pretty similar.
There may be more or less hair on my face/head since then, but aside from that you won’t find too many physical changes. But the life experiences, well that is a different story because the things that have happened in between the now and then of those photos is enormous.
Those are some of the moments that changed everything and are part of why I say I am not who I was.
Change is Change
I can’t say for certain whether they were good or bad changes but I can say that some were painful.
But the thing about change is that you can’t always see things until time has gone by. You can’t always figure out if the hard stuff led to better or worse situations. You can’t always see if there was growth until time passes.
It is different with little people because you can look at a five year window and see dramatic changes. You can look at a ten year window and wonder if they were ever that small.
All Hail The Digital Age
And thanks to the joys of technology it is possible to record the minutes and moments with more precision than ever before. Sometimes I think that is a very good thing and sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t better to let those misty colored memories go unchallenged by the digital data that we have access to today.
I often then I need to take some of my photos, which only exist as ones and zeros on a hard drive, and have them printed and framed. There is a sense that though I can see them they don’t quite exist, yet.
Someday, when I have the means, I may just do that. I love technology. I prefer ebooks to print. My computer is where I get news of the day. Sometimes, though, I like to go old school, turn off the computer and read a book made from dead tree.
I need to edit before I hit post. I meant…”I often think I need…”
I love reading on my Kindle, but a real book always feels good. I still have to make a point to print out a bunch of “recent” pix because if I don’t I get paranoid about losing all of the shots through some tech mishap.
Hi Josh
Good and bad with the digital age. I remember the days when black and white was the norm. When color photos came into play for the home user, it was actually not very good. Even though I have photos in albums, so they were never exposed to much light, well they are pretty washed out. Oh yes, I remember standing over the polaroid photos and being fascinated as it came to life.
Mary
Hi Mary,
When I look at baby pictures of me and some as a little kid I see the washed out effect you are talking about.
It is funny sometimes to think about how much things have changed. There was a day when color was a big deal and not the norm.
Now if you shoot in black and white it is for artistic purposes.
Binkys and naps…and getting stuck there for hours. Those were the days, too.
Those were the days, but sometimes I am quite happy to say were and not are.
I love the delightful pictures, Josh!
My first camera, which I bought when I was about 24, after saving up for it, was a Kodak too. I’d go nuts having to wait for the entire film roll to finish before printing. Gosh, printing was expensive, too. Later I learned to cut it along the half way point to halve the waiting time!
About 6 years ago, I got a digital camera and oh, the joy is indescribable. But i do wish I had a video camera when my son was a baby.
Hi Vidya,
I remember the frustration I would feel when I paid a lot of money to print “bad” pictures. It used to be so irritating. So I would try to be careful not to screw things up because it felt like I was just throwing money away.
Digital cameras can be an awful lot of fun, so useful.
Did anyone in your family have a video camera when your son was born?