Holding Photographs
A number of years ago, my mother, my brother and I went across the country to close up my grandparents’ home of many decades and move them to a nursing home. Their combined medical and physical needs were beyond what any family member could do. In the course of getting them settled, we took an evening to view my brother’s recent family and vacation photos on his laptop.
Now you would think folks who had watched television come into existence, and who watched tv on a fairly regular basis, this wouldn’t be all that big of a deal.
But as I watched them stare at the screen, I could see one thing as clearly. These folks, my nearly 90-year-old grandparents, they were not connecting with this. Not at all.
Now, they were going through big changes, and the slideshow was meant to give them a glimpse of family life, of their great-grandchildren, a connection with their tribe. But I think they needed to see and feel actual photos. Paper to hold and look at closely then set aside for the next one. I could see there was no emotional connection with that screen. That didn’t register as family photos for them.
There’s nothing like holding a photograph in your hand. The feel of the paper, yellowing around the edges, in sepia tone – there is no comparison to what happens on a computer screen. It makes me sad to think that so many younger-than-me people aren’t going to wind up with photo albums or a big box of loose photos to sort through, or even framed images handed down to yet another generation.
So, that why Star Photo Digital Arts is here. It’s our job, one of our missions, our calling, to urge our clients and friends to make copies of photographs to share and to hand down. It’s important, and it’s art and we can help you do that.
Get the picture?