What does the technology retrieve?
Photography can help to preserve a collective memory. Like with the advent of the written word and literacy, photography offers the ability to keep a historical record. Photos offer a richness to a recorded story, because the readers/viewers can immerse themselves into the content further.
In addition, photos can help to jog the memory of a person who might not remember certain details from the past.
What if taking pictures of everything we see impairs our actual memory of a situation? Sometimes, a person might remember a photograph in place of an actual moment. Perhaps a photograph can affect our memory of an instance. Even still, if these artifacts instigate a positive emotional response, does it matter?
What I know for sure is that I love looking through old photos of my travels with my husband and re-living the joy we experienced together. As a family, we enjoy looking at pictures of the kids and telling them stories about life when they were babies. Sometimes, they see a detail in a photo that jogs a memory for them, and it's wonderful to help fill in the story.
Photo credit: E Collett, Chile, 2009
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