Weekly Photo Challenge: Indulge
The indulgence of a quiet moment in the sunshine of a London summer
Black and white Kodak film
Once upon a time, to take a photograph was an indulgence. Film, and it’s development, was expensive. Mistakes were expensive. As children we lined up in our school uniforms for those first day photos, after which came First Holy Communion with a scattering of babies, birthdays, Christmas and occasional beach holidays.
My mother would tell me, so many times, she was far too busy with domestic drudgery to indulge in the frivolity, and extravagance, of taking photos in order to catch a simple moment, a simple smile when there was simply so much more to be done. My father, with his more sunny disposition, became the family snapper with my mother featuring in many of them – sometimes happy but always with a lingering mood not far away. Smile! For the camera!
Recently, the Wall St Journal published a piece on The Demise of Kodak: Five Reasons and I was surprised to learn that Kodak’s original marketing campaign was aimed at women, the responsible wives and mothers who “were morally obliged to keep a meticulous record of their family’s history. They could do this by preserving those Kodak moments.” My poor mother missed this memo.
Now we all have smart phones, digital cameras, every moment, every meal a snap to be shared. Whether we like it or not. Where once upon a time we were invited to slide shows, pass the pickled onions please, life has become a slide show. As such, are we over-indulging? Perhaps, but as someone who takes far too many photographs and shares some of them here on a regular basis, I am in absolute awe of the creative flair, the touching ordinariness of all our days and the incredible generosity of others in sharing such.
And of all the photographs we take, regardless of form, there will always be the odd one with imperfections of exposure, contrast and composition that will pull us back into a space and time to remind us why we indulged, why we pressed that simple little button at the top of the camera.
The indulgence of sweet memory . . .
I am such a terrible photographer if I go somewhere I just buy some postcards to keep instead.
Carl, I shall have to take your word for this but, somehow, I don’t quite believe you! Postcards, the ultimate back-up!
nice one!
Thank you Joshi!
Sometimes I wonder if in this modern digital age have we become lazy photographers. It’s all too easy to snap off more than one shot of the same scene without regard to cost and getting it right first time.
Mike, I don’t know the answer to this interesting conundrum. What I do enjoy about the digital process is playing around with the settings before taking a shot – how is this going to look if I do this compared to maybe doing that – but this happens only with a chunk of time and stable circumstances. As for the more fleeting moments, the capturing of an event or the light being just so perfect, it seems to be the quick or the dead be it digital or film. And how many of our shots do we print? Personally, I am looking forward to going back to my film camera to do more with it but I will always have a digital of some sort with me. Trying to get it right any time!
I often wonder too, if we are taking too many photos. Time will answer that, but for now I think too many is better than too few. It’s easier to cull the best, or as you put it, the unique, than to wish you had a shot of someone who’s gone or a place you may never return to.
Speaking as someone with no photographic record of my own “babyhood” (and I’m the only girl in the middle of all brothers – that’s how busy my mother was! Even if there are photos of all the boys as babies . . .) I thoroughly agree with you on the too many being better than the two few! To think of all the time I have spent looking for the adoption certificate!
Well done post. I think there were many of us who grew up with parents were caught up with the mundane hurley-burley of life that saw photography as for special moments or too time consuming/complicated/ expensive. We now live in a society that is image obsessed. We are awash in images & icons. In spite of this new culture where images are everywhere, many people are striving to take photographs and share them in a meaningful way.
I wonder what our children will say about us!
Thank you so much for your comment and lovely to meet you Elmediat here at the Photo challenge where do indeed do our best to share photos in a meaningful way.
Hello Patti, you have a great article under the sun here ,Nice work
Hey Jake, thank you for your sunshine!
I loved my Canon AE-1 and cannot come close to remembering how many rolls of film I shot back then and had developed. I must say, I adore my digital, and love how I can see them and print them myself. Just what we get used to. Back then, I thought nothing of it. Now, I probably would. Nice post Patti. Margie
You take such wonderful shots Margie I am not at all surprised to hear of your love, then and now!
I’ve always wanted to take lots and lots of photos, but as you said, “Film, and it’s development, was expensive. Mistakes were expensive.”
Am I over-indulging with my digital camera? Probably.
You’ve given me a lot to think about Patti. Thank you.
Theresa, I have to tell you, you are certainly not over-indulging with your brilliant use of whatever camera you have to hand!
Loved it!!!! Great post Patti
Thank you so much Moody!
nice little essay – and a congenial photo …
Sweet of you to say, thank you.
Very interesting post.
Thank you NN!
You cracked me up with your comment about looking for the adoption certificate —
How many people have felt that way? Their name is legion!
Knowing that there are pros and cons to everything, too many is better than not enough. Perfectionism is a crippler, whether it’s with an SLR camera with film in it, or a paint brush or a computer keyboard. And with the photos I find tremendous opportunities for creative meditation, or meditative creativity, in looking at my “captures” which I took so freely, without preconceptions. I am almost invariably surprised by joy of one sort or another, in one photo or another.
My two cents.
I do agree with you about too many being better than not enough but how to get them ALL out of the hard drive and tucked away into shoe boxes for later discovery?
As for the adoption certificate, my mother was always wondering where I came from . . .
Thanks for the reminder… I remember those days well. Now we have our digital cameras and viola a picture.
And to think the most we could get from a roll of film was 36 images! Unless I am wrong and there were more . . .
Well said! We take sooooooooo many photos to find the “ONE”. I like to revisit what I’ve shot months down the road to see the outcasts, the ones with imperfections, the ones that make you see something now that you didn’t see then in the rush to find the ONE. Sometimes I think I should get out the old AE1, find some film and once again appreciate how precious each shot is.
Thank you Doris! My “custom header” is an outcast with the blurry light of a NY skyline but it reflected the daze I felt in being here. I hope you do get out your old camera as I would love to hear your of your comparisons, and of course, see the results!
You made me remember those special, memorable, priceless Kodak moments. They made me appreciate more the past and the beautiful memories that they gave me through the years. Love your photo. Love the words that went behind it as well, “The indulgence of a quiet moment in the sunshine of a London summer.” So wonderful and poetic….Have a great day filled with sunshine.
It was always so exciting to get a new packet of photographs from the developer wasn’t it! Thank you IT for sharing your lovely memories and I know how much you enjoy creating and sharing new memories of family life, that whatever happens, there is always a lovely burst of colour and sunshine in there somewhere.
Interesting post, Patti. I remember my old pics in black and white. They’re all so precious!
B & W pics with colourful memories, precious indeed!
Digital definitely has many advantages, but at the same time it’s a bit sad to see analogue slowly start to disappear. I definitely miss having access to a darkroom… there’s something magical about them, I think.
Sadly, I have never had access to a darkroom but so hoping to enjoy the magic one day. Recently I was invited to someone’s dark room but wasn’t too sure about accepting. I need to ask Dear Abby about this . . .
A special past time: reading and relaxing …
very nice
Not much to complain about with this indulgence!
Not a photographer myself…but, isn’t “Too Many Photographs” an oxymoron?
Hello Sonsothunder, I appreciate your question which has given me even more to think about!
As for “too many . . .” I know I don’t need dozens of shots of the one flower hoping one might be a stand-out when the reality is, with me, they are almost as bad as each other! Or not quite the effect I was hoping for!
Thank you for looking!
What you said is so true. I forgot that it was a pain to get those pictures developed. I guess that is why there are not that many pictures of me when I was an older child. My Mom took pictures when I was small, then stopped. I also remember taking a whole roll of pictures and get them back and only got one good one. I love digital now.
Oh my goodness, the heartbreak of all those awful photos let alone the blank grey nothings! I know how much fun you are having with your digital camera Connie!
very reflective piece.
i agree that it is better to capture one image too many than later regret that you hadn’t. in fact i agree so much, that i posted it on my blog somewhere. having said that, i think it’s incredible the way connections are possible around the globe, and how we can learn from one another’s observations and perspectives, and how that enriches our own lives in a way that would actually leave a gap if it were not an option.
while i sometimes find it sad that you can be with a whole group of people at bus stop, all of them chatting happily away – on their handheld devices, but not with each other – i think the good far outweighs the negative. i guess it’s a fine balancing act.
thanks for sharing.
Kris, looking fwd to reading your piece on this subject! You are so right about the interesting connections – here we are, wherever it is we happen to be, talking about it, sharing experiences through our photographs from which I have had the pleasure of learning so much.
As for the people at the bus stop, or those we pass in the street, what if you and I, as bloggers who only know each other here, were to pass by, knowing but not knowing?
I LOVE this photo. It reminds me very much of my grandfather. It also reminds me of simpler times, when we weren’t running around like crazy people.
Thank you Andy for the love, here’s to life in the slow lane!
These are sharp wonderful thoughts on photography’s impact on our lives and memories, Great job. Thank you.
Thomas, thank you so much for your very generous comment. This subject is a never-ending source of mystery and intrigue.
Great photo!!
Thank you Cardinal, certainly not as colourful as yours!
Is that Harry Potter as a young un? I was v sad to hear that you didn’t have images of your chidhood captured forever on print.
That is indeed our Harry!
I am more sad about the captured images of my childhood / early school days which are indeed on print – fat, chubby faced, missing teeth, wavy hair wanting it to be long, blonde and straight! The missing photos are the baby shots which only feeds my foundling beliefs. There is a story behind this, coming soon, one day!
Z sent it on. Looks like a familiar face!
It runs in the family, that familiar face!