A moment in time

I'm often asked what it is about photography that I love so much. Aside from my idea of "it's not what you look at that matters; it's what you see", there's also the aspect of capturing the memory of a moment. That's probably why so many photographers like to photograph the same place over and over again; even if nothing much has changed in the physical surroundings, each photograph carries with it a memory of that moment in time. The weather, the sounds and smells, maybe even an event that happened on the same day…all memories connected with a single photo.

The significance is doubly so for portraits. Some photographers & models subscribe to the idea of using photography to capture one's youth. I've talked to models who did intimate photos because – in their own words – they wanted to do it while "everything was still pointing in the right direction (again, their words, not mine :) )

Anyways, to me it seems a bit cruel to use photography to remind us of a youth that's passed. I prefer to use photographs to remind us of who we were at a certain point in time. Not the physical aspects but the emotional ones. Photos can trigger such a powerful flood of memories (think about how often you smile/sigh when looking at old photos). A faint smile from last year might be due to anything ranging from a sorrowful burden to a muffled burst of glee from a more carefree time. A pose, a certain look in the eyes…all reminders of who you were at that moment in your life.

It's true that we physically change through the years, but it's the reminder of the kind of person that we were that's so much more appealing to me. Keep this idea in mind the next time you take a photo; you're recording a memory to look back on in years to come.