I wonder how many people who will look back in twenty years time and regret that all their photos from this time are compressed and altered heavily with filters.
Actually, just thinking about it, the future could be worse than that. Either some people will have too many photos it will too overwhelming to look back through, or all the photos will have been stored on some failed photo sharing site and lost forever. (or stored on a cd, SD card etc).
There is a lot to be said about a box of negatives stored in an attic.. (oh no, I sound like a grumpy old man)
An unconditioned attic wouldn't be very good for film.
Having scanned thousands of my parents photos, the negatives and slides have held up very well, but the fun factor of a random slideshow and the convenience of managing a few virtual folders also bring a lot to the table (and it is much easier to backup the digital files, even if it is still hard).
I think you're placing too much value on photos per se. A whole generation of photos was lost because Polaroids were used to take them. Then disposable cameras, etc.
Ultimately, your memories are the lasting medium. A few photos will make it to the end, and that's enough.
I very much agree with the comments by Shane at the end of the article. Instagram filter processing should be the only alterations applied to images which are posted to Instagram.
My father got me into photography at a young age (now 31) and in my eyes he was fantastic with his choice of 'filters' in the 80's/90's. that consisted of a 35mm + arsenal of lenses + even more uv/color/et c glass filters he would stack.
He unfortunately passed recently and in my last days talking with him about life and what his final thoughts were, one comment stuck in my mind which was 'I wasted all that time taking pictures of clouds and silly things, where the only pictures I want to look at one last time are ones of you and your mom'.
My takeaway? Who cares what filters or post processing one uses, in the end, it's the context that makes it worth the memory.
Black and white, sepia, hypercontrasted photos are fascinating because they evoke the feel of mystery and distance from the subjects of decades-old photos whose images have faded or rotted over time.
When today's kids grow up, will that connotation still exist? Or will it be "pictures of Abraham Lincoln look just like pictures from dinner last night"?
Also, the filters remove ugly details, letting the viewers imagination fill in the beauty that isn't in the picture. Like how an average person is presumed to be nice looking when you can only see the back of their head or outer layers of clothing.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 37.8 ms ] threadActually, just thinking about it, the future could be worse than that. Either some people will have too many photos it will too overwhelming to look back through, or all the photos will have been stored on some failed photo sharing site and lost forever. (or stored on a cd, SD card etc).
There is a lot to be said about a box of negatives stored in an attic.. (oh no, I sound like a grumpy old man)
Having scanned thousands of my parents photos, the negatives and slides have held up very well, but the fun factor of a random slideshow and the convenience of managing a few virtual folders also bring a lot to the table (and it is much easier to backup the digital files, even if it is still hard).
Ultimately, your memories are the lasting medium. A few photos will make it to the end, and that's enough.
I wish I had more photos from those times because memories are not always as durable as one might hope.
But yeah, we spend more hours per year shooting than we spend looking at photos, so we are lost anyway.
The real value of an amateur camera is that it provides an acceptable crutch to use to avoid uncomfortable or boring social interactions.
/camera addict
He unfortunately passed recently and in my last days talking with him about life and what his final thoughts were, one comment stuck in my mind which was 'I wasted all that time taking pictures of clouds and silly things, where the only pictures I want to look at one last time are ones of you and your mom'.
My takeaway? Who cares what filters or post processing one uses, in the end, it's the context that makes it worth the memory.
When today's kids grow up, will that connotation still exist? Or will it be "pictures of Abraham Lincoln look just like pictures from dinner last night"?
Also, the filters remove ugly details, letting the viewers imagination fill in the beauty that isn't in the picture. Like how an average person is presumed to be nice looking when you can only see the back of their head or outer layers of clothing.