5 Reasons Why You Should Photograph Those Moments
‘A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words’; the well-known saying is only around one hundred years old, but it is heard far and wide; said by the young and old alike, and for good reason.
While we at Iternal believe each medium has its own shining moment, as it’s World Photography Day we thought we’d take some time to show some love to the most enduring, and unsuspectingly versatile, of all: The photograph.
Create Discussion
Despite typically lacking anything more than a moment captured, photographs have an outstanding ability to generate discussion. For what reason, completely depends on the moment the photo immortalises.
Could its contents inspire a wave of nostalgia; or be controversial? Perhaps its validity is questionable? Or maybe it’s a question of ethics; as with the famous photo ‘The Vulture and The Little Girl’. Whatever the case, the simplicity of a photo can inspire many complexities.
You’ll Get Nostalgic (Or Embarrassed)
Nothing encaptures the moment of an era quite like a one-dimensional still image. While they share this attribute with their motion picture cousins, the photograph – with its forever frozen depiction – leaves the viewer painting their own context around it.
‘Do you remember going ‘X’ after here?’; ‘how old were you in that photo?’; ‘Why were those clothes ever in style’ are all questions that are bound to come up when going through the old photo album, and are all destined to cause a whole lot of differing opinions.
It’s Accessible
The 21st century may have its own set of burdens to work through, but we can certainly count ourselves lucky in many aspects. We can get from one side of the world to the other in less than a day; a large percentage of us (though nowhere near enough of us) have access to running, clean water; and cameras are literally everywhere.
Considering the first iteration of what we would consider a camera is only about 200 years old (and we’re certainly not talking megapixel quality), we’ve come a long way. £1,000 smartphone? Camera. £60 flip phone? Camera. Laptop? Camera. Car? Camera. Remote-controlled flying device? Camera.
You Don’t Have To Be In The Photo
Potentially my favourite reason for using photography to capture my favourite moments: you don’t have to be in the photo. If, like me, you’d rather not have your face captured with an awkward ‘I-really-can’t-smile’ look about you, then you don’t have to!
If the moment you capture means something to you – the area; the occasion; another person – then you simply don’t have to be in the photograph. You can reflect on that time whenever you like and admire it forever without your face it (though I’m sure in your case that would be a loss to all).
We Age; Photo’s Don’t
As a society – and perhaps deeper; as humans – we have an obsession with ageing; specifically trying not to age. We cling to our youth for as long as we can, afraid to ‘end up’ like those we’ve tried so damn hard to rebel against since we were old enough to remember doing so.
It’s a silly notion. Life at all stages is beautiful and we should treat each stage as a new experience and a chance to evolve ourselves. That being said, it’s always nice to look back and see ourselves as we once were, preserved eternally at whatever part of life that may be. Not just physically, but to think about how far we’ve come; through all the adventures; love; loss, and lessons learned.
‘A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words’
And there we have it; the simplest, yet arguably most effective way to capture your memories. If only there was an equally simple, yet effective way to keep them safe, secure, and displayed beautifully on a personal, interactive digital timeline… Oh wait.
With Iternal, it’s never been easier to save your most cherished moments and share them with the people that matter most! And not just photo’s; you can save written and filmed memories to your timeline to be admired by whoever you want and not a soul more. Sign-up today and see why 10,000+ others are using Iternal.
It might be time to start digging around the old family photo albums…