Monday 30 January 2012

...about memory

This is a short post about one of many roles photography has to fulfill. I just thought it is good to point it even if it’s so obvious for many of us.
Yesterday I finished scanning a bunch of an old negatives for a friend of mine. All of them from early 70’s. All taken by her father. It tooks time but what a pleasure it was. Looking at the each scanned image is exactly like traveling in time. I believe lots of those photographs were never seen before. It is something very unique. Rediscovering moments. Live them again...

scan from about 40 years old negative

After that I did a little research in my old archives. Found a portrait of my grandfather. This photograph was taken maybe 50 years ago or even earlier. Author remains unknown. I realized how important it is for me. It shows my grandfather exactly in the way I remember him. Man full of positive energy.
I never took a picture of him myself. Don't know why. Maybe obviously because i wasn’t photographing people back then...

scan from about 50 years old print
All of it reminds me of a two blog posts I read some time ago. They draw my attention in a very special way. Both of them /very personal stories/ were about passage of time.
Both of them raised the question of sense of photography...
Why we are taking photographs?
Whatever we say it usually going to one conclusion  - to memorize...
...and memorize not only people. It concerns everything around us.
Sounds obvious? Yes, definitely. But somehow... I never thought about it in that way.

Photographer holds the role of time machine operator. Each can do it in a very unique and personal way.

2 comments:

  1. A lovely post Artur and one that I can completely relate too. I love looking through old photographs and not so old too I suppose - they all hold a memory - some special and some mundane (and yet even the mundane hold something special). I love the last line in particular - I love the idea of being a time machine operator and yes, totally agree, we do see it in a unique and personal way.

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    1. thank you very much Deborah... it was in my head for a long time before i decided to write about it. I just don't know why it took me so long to realize how important it is.

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