Me Circa 1980. Photo by Doyen. Kingston Jamaica. Floppy Disk Circa 2002. Remember when 1.44MB was a lot of memory? When the average photo on my phone camera is about 2.8MB. Can we say #Obsolete?
Earlier today in a Facebook group of photographers, one of the members challenged the rest of us to post an image as a child. As I decided to post this photo, I couldn't help but think of all the kids born in the past 10 years who will not have childhood images. Not that they never had a photo taken, but that most of their photos live on a computer or a phone, not on a print.
For me, this image will always be powerful. I don't know if it was my first ever time having my photo taken, I do know that the same photographer photographed my older brothers, 8-10 years earlier. The FAMILY photographer, not just a photographer who photographs family.
The other object in the image is an old floppy disk that I had laying around. This was probably used around 2002 when I was in the Navy, because it was the "easiest" way to move information from point A to point B securely. By 2007, floppy disks were all but phased out in favor of compact discs. Almost 10 years later, CD's are almost obsolete due to cloud storage, but when will that no longer be the preferred method?
For a century and a half, PAPER has been the preferred medium for photography. It's often the permanent solution for photo archival. Photos have survived floods, storms, and even fires (when safeguarded).
Books and photos are reflections of our memories and thoughts that we can enjoy while we are alive, but are also able to leave for future generations to enjoy when we are gone.
What's the oldest photo of you that you own? Do comment and follow!
LD
PS. For all sessions booked in the month of April, receive a complimentary 9x12 print.
