Crystal-clarity may slice too deep
by Jack GrantPhotographs freeze a moment in time, and old pictures from the pre-digital era by their very nature add a weight of age to the image, even if the subject is something like a landscape, not attached to a particular time period. The yellowing of the paper, the fuzziness from the grain or the poor lens, the time-induced fading of the color or the reduced contrast of old black-and-white imbue a gravitas that is lacking in the crystal-clarity of images taken with a digital camera and displayed on a computer screen.
I wonder if in a quarter-century the pixel-files captured today will have the same impact of memory that old photos have now, sometimes wistful and sad, or recalling joy often repeated since that frozen moment. The razor’s edge clarity may be too harsh for gentle reminiscence to survive.
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As a photographer I have wondered that myself. I spend time scanning and restoring old photos for others and it is always a question as to how much to restore. Of course the other question is will we be able to even read many of the files or the media they are on.
By Ron Beasley on 11.25.06 21:10
Well, I’ve always felt that the “weight of age” also created some distance. To imply that things were somehow different ‘back then’.
Of course, in some ways, things were different ‘back then’, but, in other ways, things are the same now as they have always been.
Perhaps the crystal clarity of the pixel-files will illustrate that in a way that the fuzzy images of yesteryear never could.
By TeaFizz on 12.07.06 08:58