My family and photos
My photographic career began in the early nineties and the only way back then to appreciate a photograph was to print it. Today this still holds true: if it’s not printed it’s not real.
As a professional photographer, creating a print for my clients is a very personal thing. It is not made for social media likes for public approval. It is for you and your client. My reasons however for the love of the printed photograph are more deeply rooted then just the commercial application. There is something nostalgic and emotive about looking at a print, the same cannot be said for an image on a computer screen.
As a child, growing up in Northern Italy, my father loved taking photographs at all family events and outings. He wasn’t a professional photographer and technically the results weren’t always ideal but somehow that didn’t matter to us as a family, what mattered was that frozen moment in time. We only focused on the moment captured and the memory.
I vividly remember the excitement when my father finally the roll of film had developed by the local Agfa (no longer around) photo store, sitting together as a family, looking at these photographs and reminiscing the wonderful time we had on our holiday.
I think the excitement was partially due to the fact that the roll of film had been sitting in the camera for maybe months as my father would savour every single frame on that roll. The same roll would often contain not only summer holiday pics but Christmas and birthdays as well.
Looking back at it now, those moments were priceless. No tv, no internet, no smart devices, no distraction. As I looked at each image and held it in my hands, it would vividly take me back to that moment that was captured in an instant and now treasured for a lifetime.
I get super emotional holding old photographs as I begin to think of close family members that once held this same piece of paper but unfortunately are no longer with us. The physical tangential property of the printed photograph has the ability for me to make a direct connection with the past and bring back vivid memories of moments that may have been forgotten or simply discarded. Smell is a powerful tool for remembering and even to this day as I open boxes of old family photographs the distinct and unique aroma conjures up recollections of my childhood.
To this day, photographs adorn the walls of our house with one area especially dedicated to family. Whenever visitors come over, the family wall always becomes a talking point as each photograph has its own special story and we are transported to that special moment in time.
One of my favourite pictures on the family wall is a beautiful studio portrait of my parents when they got engaged at the age of 18. Back in the early sixties my grandparents didn’t have a lot of money but saw the need to invest in documenting the event and paid for a professional photographer to take the picture. Wow! What an investment, today this picture is priceless as it hangs on my wall, and one day it will be passed to the next generation for them to enjoy and pass on. You just can’t put a value on that. My parents always employed the services of a professional to document major family events like christenings, Holy communions etc.
What saddens me the most today is that we take more pictures than ever before and all we do is leave them on a hard drive only for them to one day disappear forever. The printed photograph doesn’t rely on technology to view it and appreciate it, no screens, no computers. The wonderful tactile physical connection to the past through the pinching of a memory on printed photograph will never be experienced by most, and a large portion of our history will be lost for ever.
As a professional photographer, creating a print for my clients is a very personal thing. It is not made for social media likes for public approval. It is for you and your client. My reasons however for the love of the printed photograph are more deeply rooted then just the commercial application. There is something nostalgic and emotive about looking at a print, the same cannot be said for an image on a computer screen.
As a child, growing up in Northern Italy, my father loved taking photographs at all family events and outings. He wasn’t a professional photographer and technically the results weren’t always ideal but somehow that didn’t matter to us as a family, what mattered was that frozen moment in time. We only focused on the moment captured and the memory.
I vividly remember the excitement when my father finally the roll of film had developed by the local Agfa (no longer around) photo store, sitting together as a family, looking at these photographs and reminiscing the wonderful time we had on our holiday.
I think the excitement was partially due to the fact that the roll of film had been sitting in the camera for maybe months as my father would savour every single frame on that roll. The same roll would often contain not only summer holiday pics but Christmas and birthdays as well.
Looking back at it now, those moments were priceless. No tv, no internet, no smart devices, no distraction. As I looked at each image and held it in my hands, it would vividly take me back to that moment that was captured in an instant and now treasured for a lifetime.
I get super emotional holding old photographs as I begin to think of close family members that once held this same piece of paper but unfortunately are no longer with us. The physical tangential property of the printed photograph has the ability for me to make a direct connection with the past and bring back vivid memories of moments that may have been forgotten or simply discarded. Smell is a powerful tool for remembering and even to this day as I open boxes of old family photographs the distinct and unique aroma conjures up recollections of my childhood.
To this day, photographs adorn the walls of our house with one area especially dedicated to family. Whenever visitors come over, the family wall always becomes a talking point as each photograph has its own special story and we are transported to that special moment in time.
One of my favourite pictures on the family wall is a beautiful studio portrait of my parents when they got engaged at the age of 18. Back in the early sixties my grandparents didn’t have a lot of money but saw the need to invest in documenting the event and paid for a professional photographer to take the picture. Wow! What an investment, today this picture is priceless as it hangs on my wall, and one day it will be passed to the next generation for them to enjoy and pass on. You just can’t put a value on that. My parents always employed the services of a professional to document major family events like christenings, Holy communions etc.
What saddens me the most today is that we take more pictures than ever before and all we do is leave them on a hard drive only for them to one day disappear forever. The printed photograph doesn’t rely on technology to view it and appreciate it, no screens, no computers. The wonderful tactile physical connection to the past through the pinching of a memory on printed photograph will never be experienced by most, and a large portion of our history will be lost for ever.