Photographs

[Srbo]

In todays world and with the new technology and whatnot, the value of a real photograph seems almost forgotten.
Video cameras, digital cameras and so on...you snap a pic or a video, upload it on your PC, email it and that`s that.
Rarely anymore people have the will or the time to actually develop pictures...and of course, it is also cheaper this way.

Just when the war started, back home, my late father told me, time and time again...
" Son, if ever anything big happenes...you know, like our property is in danger and such - nevermind anything else - grab the photoalbums. That`s the one thing you can`t replace. Those memories.
Don`t forget, the photoalbums!"

But, as it turned out...I didn`t save them. Hundreds and hundreds of pictures got lost in the inferno that burned down my house and the entire city.

Today, I have only a few photos left, from those old, happy times.

And I am looking at the only one right now where we all still together, and alive...Dad, Mom, my brother and my sisters. And, once again, I`m close to tears.
Happy faces, smiling, standing in front of our house. Nvermore, nevermore...ever...

The photo is loosing on colour, on sharpness, like it wants to fade away, just like the memories that I have...but, for this photo, I`d be willing to fight with my life for it.

You got any photographs that are that dear to your heart ?

[Liselle]

I have one of my son (mark) who had a habit of falling asleep anywhere after he had been to nursery. This one is asleep on his back on the stairs, it's as if he'd been coming down stairs and just sat down and fell asleep. Everytime I see it it just makes me smile.

[Natjen26]

It's can sound silly but I have this picture of one of my cats who died a few years ago. Pluis was the first cat we had and he was one of a kind. I'm an avid pet lover!! And I shot this about a month before he died (long illness).



Maybe it doesn't belong here, because most of you will have people in the pictures, but the people in my life have a tendency to come and go, so I don't easily attach myself, not even to family.

[Wendy Capps]

In todays world and with the new technology and whatnot, the value of a real photograph seems almost forgotten.
Video cameras, digital cameras and so on...you snap a pic or a video, upload it on your PC, email it and that`s that.
Rarely anymore people have the will or the time to actually develop pictures...and of course, it is also cheaper this way.

Just when the war started, back home, my late father told me, time and time again...
" Son, if ever anything big happenes...you know, like our property is in danger and such - nevermind anything else - grab the photoalbums. That`s the one thing you can`t replace. Those memories.
Don`t forget, the photoalbums!"

But, as it turned out...I didn`t save them. Hundreds and hundreds of pictures got lost in the inferno that burned down my house and the entire city.

Today, I have only a few photos left, from those old, happy times.

And I am looking at the only one right now where we all still together, and alive...Dad, Mom, my brother and my sisters. And, once again, I`m close to tears.
Happy faces, smiling, standing in front of our house. Nvermore, nevermore...ever...

The photo is loosing on colour, on sharpness, like it wants to fade away, just like the memories that I have...but, for this photo, I`d be willing to fight with my life for it.

You got any photographs that are that dear to your heart ?

Oh my God, yes. Now my children's of course, but old pics hold the most memories of times gone by. Some of Mom, Grandmother & Grandfather, Aunt & Uncle from 30'-40's. Also some of my Great Grandmother from 1920's on old cardboard type photos.. My uncle was shot down and a German POW.. I could not even imagine your experience. Keep the faith SRBO.

[Spideyman]

The one of my grandparents at the summer farm. Only film cameras back then.

[mstay]

A picture of 4 generations. My Mom holding me as a baby and my Grandma and Great Grandma standing behind us. I love this picture!

[rose key]

It's can sound silly but I have this picture of one of my cats who died a few years ago. Pluis was the first cat we had and he was one of a kind. I'm an avid pet lover!! And I shot this about a month before he died (long illness).



Maybe it doesn't belong here, because most of you will have people in the pictures, but the people in my life have a tendency to come and go, so I don't easily attach myself, not even to family.

I think it certainly does belong here. This is treasured picture that holds dear memories for you, and I'm sure that's what Srbo is talking about.
The love we have for our pets may not compare to the love we have for our children or parents, but it is a deep love nonetheless. I've had cats in my life I still miss after they've been gone 20 years.

I've lost my photographs not from a fire, but from a warehouse that we lost possession of. It's no less devastating, because the things cannot be replaced. I do have one photo album left, and I treasure it dearly. I think you are right, Srbo, looking at the pictures on the computer is not the same as having them in your hands.

[BarbYann]

Good thread. This picture of my son is so very special to me. It acts as some kind of mental time warp. If I stare at it for a bit I can actually start to smell the chlorine in his hair (he had just been in the pool). Then I will hear his Air Jordans thumping across the wide plank floors in our old house and the thud as he runs past the brass heating vent in the hallway floor. I can think of no other picture that can make me smell, hear and feel.

[SiN_kInG]

yea, only one though. it's a framed picture of my mother who passed away when i was 16. it sits on top of my bookcase actually. guarding my stephen king novels...she was a fan too

[md10pc]

You will think this is funny but I have a packet of pictures so dear to me that whenever I go on vacation, I bring it into the office and lock it in our fireproof file! (I work for a very small company.) My dad loved photography and took lots of pictures; he also had a bunch of old family pictures in his possession when he died. I wish he would have written on the backs of more of them to identify the pictures. He had a picture of my grandmother (his mother) when she was in her 20's, standing with her six sisters and her parents. I never knew that I looked like her when I was young until I saw that picture.

All pictures, of loved ones or loved pets, are precious for the memories they hold. Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Srbo. You might get some copies made before the photos fade much more. It will be a treasure for your daughter too.