“Don’t shoot what it looks like, shoot what it feels like.” ~ David Alan Harvey
The joy of preserving every flattering memory at the click of our savvy and reliable tech gadgets continues to be a blessed invention. The multiple dynamic filters not only transform and layer the photos with beautifying, comic or glamorous features. Every candid moment is preserved in a magical gallery easily available whenever we feel the need to relive the past. Clicking the photograph just a few decades ago was about sporting the perfect outfit carefully selected by the parents for their child and for the child to strike an awkward pose in the most dreaded and yet a magical adventure of the year- a trip to the photo-studio. The photo studio with its dominating black, purple, blue or red background and big lights mounted on the stand gave a feeling of something special about to transpire. The biggest problem was behaving in the exact manner with your parents expecting you to hold your head high, not smile much yet contradictorily making it look like a nice family photo. The swishing curtains and the uncomfortable now almost disappearing phenomenon of being camera shy added to the tense silence for all of those who were scared of smiling too much. The camera person was yet another species who could go from being a cheerful clown to being an equally stern adult while we could try and hide behind our parents or post ourselves somewhere between them. This experience was closely replicated once in the show ‘Modern Family’ when Claire Dunphy wants the entire clan to wear white and be photographed on a staircase and has to coordinate with everyone’s crazy schedules only to realize that her vision of a calm and mature posse did not really define her family. It’s title spelled it all. The moment when connected to the reality of the photo-studio reinvented the reality of a happy family willing to burst out of the frame. Panning the camera to the present, when it’s easy to click candid shots of all of us being merry and being able to retake as many shots as possible without the frowning camera man checking his camera or we having the courage to question his craft. The family photograph underwent a makeover. It was imperfect whether it was shot in the photo studio or within a home, whether it was one’s own vision or not. These vintage family photographs stored in thick, old, frayed and yellowing albums with the entire family coming together with their individual captions is what continues to be an heirloom passed on as a legacy from one generation to another. Now they are better off being stored in forgotten corners being conjured only to compare the then and now. The same, I doubt however can be said for the innumerable snapshots and stories that continue to crowd our social space with everyone clamoring to share exotic and perfect snaps.
0 Comments
|
About the Author
Why end the fun here? Click on ARCHIVES: OUR STORIES to read more by our Authors.
ARCHIVES: OUR STORIES
January 2022
Categories |