Old photograph

I had a small get-together to attend today in the evening. It was the baptism of a friend's daughter. Later, there was a dinner party and my friend handed me his DSLR, expecting me to take decent pictures to cover the evening. While I was happily clicking away and sometimes discussing with him the features of the camera, another elderly family friend was showing around a photograph of herself holding a small girl. That got my attention. The picture happened to be 35 years old and the little girl she held turned out to be my sister-in-law. I was immersed in it myself as I mentioned that my sister-in-law as a litte child looked exactly like her 3-year-old daughter(my niece) who was scampering around the hall. The elderly aunt was so proud of having preserved the fading picture.

This is the power of traditional photography. The memory is held onto forever. It stays in wallets and albums, always waiting to be showed off. I just cannot see today's so-called 'evolved' photography and equipment delivering and living up to this simple yet powerful moment. In fact this evening made me rethink my decision of upgrading my camera. Was a bigger megixel camera any more important than the moment? Nobody was wondering which camera was used 35 years back. It was the captured people and moment that mattered.

I figured we are all losing a grip on what's really important. We crave for gadgets but don't know what to do with it. Cameras are meant to capture people; cell phones are for connecting with people, but seldom do we realise the core use of these things. We brag about owning them. That's all.