# Why are photos important?



## tragicendings_ (Oct 7, 2004)

Hello, I am a student from England and I'm visiting for a bit of help... to be honest...

I'd love it if you could provide some kind of response to this question:

*Why are photographs important to help us conserve our memories?*

I'm not asking for essays, but if you want to do one I won't be complaining. Thanks in advance for any comments you may make 

Happy shooting!
Becca
x[/b]


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## oriecat (Oct 7, 2004)

For memory conservation, photos are important because they help serve as a stimulant or a trigger.  There are so many memories in our brains, it's not easy to pull them all up, but seeing a piece of it can make them come streaming back.


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## Artemis (Oct 7, 2004)

It helps deal with a problem called "Comfabulation" which...I know sounds like I made up, but is a problem where our minds make up a story and we believe it happens, in psychological terms.

it also is an art form, thus is important, because art is such a big thing on earth


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## Digital Matt (Oct 7, 2004)

Photos are important as any artform is important.  Music, Poetry, Sculpture, Painting, Photography all invoke emotion, make bold statements, show beauty, and generally make life a little easier to deal with.  Also, art usually depicts very well the period in which it was made, reflecting what was going on in the world, and in different societies, so in that respect, it is a good historical tool.


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## Scott WRG Editor (Oct 7, 2004)

oriecat said:
			
		

> For memory conservation, photos are important because they help serve as a stimulant or a trigger.  There are so many memories in our brains, it's not easy to pull them all up, but seeing a piece of it can make them come streaming back.



Ditto, and because memories don't have the resolution the photographs do


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## Artemis (Oct 8, 2004)

Except if you zoom reaaalll close.


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## Ant (Oct 8, 2004)

Photos are a window in time. 

I can stare for ages at old photographs. like looking through a portal to a world before I was even born.


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## Artemis (Oct 8, 2004)

Its a snippet of life, that makes up a story.


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## mentos_007 (Oct 8, 2004)

sometimes photos are important to remember some details... for example "what were I wearing on their wedding?" etc. Of course this example may sound silly but in everyday life we very often meet this kind of situation


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## SWFLA1 (Oct 8, 2004)

what else would we do with all these cameras and all this film?


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## Artemis (Oct 8, 2004)

Toilet paper...and...throwing objects?


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## Karalee (Oct 8, 2004)

Freezing a moment in time, and then being able to hold it in your hands, and view it whenever you want is such a cool thing to be able to do. 

Its a good creative outlet, to express your feelings, or views on something.


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## malachite (Oct 8, 2004)

tragicendings_ said:
			
		

> Why are photographs important to help us conserve our memories?



For the same reason I hunt down and kill things...........................to see _what was_..............

No, I'm kidding..........For me it's just an expression of art than I can mix with my like of life outside of home and work. It's an excuse to go be adventuresome and go find someplace new. The pictures are just an extension of the whole process. I'm not trying to become a great photographer. I just want to add a little color to my life....one stop at a time


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## tragicendings_ (Oct 10, 2004)

*bump*

Wicked responses guys, any more for any more?
x


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## Artemis (Oct 10, 2004)

Its to catch that beautiful moment, the perfect second in time.


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## tragicendings_ (Oct 18, 2004)

So, why do you guys all take photos anyway?


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## Corry (Oct 18, 2004)

I started to take photos just so I would have something to remember the people in my life by.  At the time I started I wasn't really serious about real photography...just about capturing memories of those I loved...and I started getting more and more compliments on them..and people saying I should take pictures more often...and thus the passion was born.


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## ahelg (Oct 18, 2004)

On the wall in my room I have photos of family members who have passed away. It's comforting to be able to look at the wall and remember all the good times we had.


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## Artemis (Oct 18, 2004)

I cant draw (due to a problem I have with Hand-I-coordination) So I decided to take pictures, because I do like art.


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## logel (Oct 20, 2004)

i sure do take pictures partly to help preserving memories (often, admitedly, sensual, erotic memories...) but the nature of the relation of these memories with the pictures is a bit difficult to find out... anyway i think art (in _any _form) has a lot to do with time, and photography is no exception to that; sometimes it actually can make the passing of time so painfully clear...

and past is not to be recovered... or is it?


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## Varthlokkur (Oct 20, 2004)

tragicendings_ said:
			
		

> So, why do you guys all take photos anyway?




Because it is fun and makes me feel good.  I like making people happy with pictures of thier family and children.


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## tragicendings_ (Nov 5, 2004)

Any of you guys mind if i quote your responses as a part of my essay?
x


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## ahelg (Nov 5, 2004)

Nah. If my comment was any interesting then please feel free to use it.


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## motcon (Nov 5, 2004)

the reasons people take photographs and the reasons people appreciate photographs are often different, but do converge in some areas. 

that is the commonly accepted general statement. each individual has a unique perception/passion in each of these areas.

someone once posted a scan of a photo taken of her sister. i immediately knew that i had to have it. i sent an email to her with questions regarding the purchase of a print. she thought that i was a stalker because she had never sold a print. after we worked through it all and she realized the fact that i was genuine and sincere, i had the print a week later. 

so i bought a print of someone's sister. a random person. why?

it was technically without flaw. perfect dof, nothing annoying in the frame to detract from the subject, and most importantly; she hit the shutter at the right time. all at once the girl in the photo is happy, sad, being carefree and enjoying the day, being caught in the act of doing something that mom told her to not do. she has the eyes of the unknowing and innocent, she has the eyes of all wisdom. why did she take the photograph? because it was her sister and she wanted to photograph her. i'm not sure she knew it at the time, but she was able to capture that 'other' aspect; the something that makes a photograph live rather than just be.

a visual memory and conveyance of subject are, of course, reasons people take photographs and pull them out from time to time for the sake of remembrance. 

others photograph in a technically sound way in order to capture and convey a sense of emotion and presence.

the list does go on. the profession of one of the best current day photographers i've ever known was to travel the world taking photographs of.....food. for magazines. that was his profession. the photographs led a person down a single path of, 'damn, that looks good'. his 'off hours' work was something else entirely. i could stare for hours at a single piece by him and my emotional perception would change slightly and at at times drastically.

and it continues to go on, but in the end, each person has valid reasons to take photographs just as each person has valid reasons to appreciate certain photographs.

**note - i did not do a spelling/grammar check, so shame on me if there are any errors.


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## DocFrankenstein (Nov 5, 2004)

Now I wanna see that sister :?   

Seriously... can u plz post it?


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## motcon (Nov 5, 2004)

DocFrankenstein said:
			
		

> Now I wanna see that sister :?
> 
> Seriously... can u plz post it?



sure. give me 'til the end of the day (tonight sometime) to get the scanner up and running.


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## tragicendings_ (Nov 8, 2004)

Motcon, you make a very good point.
And please post that print, I would love to see it.

x


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## Hertz van Rental (Nov 8, 2004)

Our memories are imperfect and we forget a lot. Go through your family and friends and try and remember the colour of their eyes. photos just fill in the gaps - and help some of us earn a living.


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## motcon (Nov 8, 2004)

tragicendings_ said:
			
		

> Motcon, you make a very good point.
> And please post that print, I would love to see it.
> 
> x



sorry sorry folks; scanner....usb cord...cat...ugh. 

i know i have another usb cord here somewhere...


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## Geronimo (Nov 8, 2004)

Interesting points Will.  



			
				motcon said:
			
		

> **note - i did not do a spelling/grammar check, so shame on me if there are any errors.



However dont try to pin any mistakes to my doing.


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## motcon (Nov 9, 2004)

Geronimo said:
			
		

> However dont try to pin any mistakes to my doing.



so YOU chewed through my usb cord!?! o, wait; nevermind...


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## tragicendings_ (Nov 12, 2004)

Come on, Motcon


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## tragicendings_ (Nov 18, 2004)

*bumpage*


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## motcon (Dec 2, 2004)

tragicendings_ said:
			
		

> Come on, Motcon



lol....it's coming! got my scanner workin'..


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## tragicendings_ (Jan 14, 2005)

...I see nada.

Been bugging you about this for agges, come onnnn!
&lt;3 x


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## will965 (Jan 14, 2005)

So we can make something seem better than it really is... with good enough photos anyway.


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## tmpadmin (Jan 14, 2005)

Photos have a unique ability to capture a moment in time perfectly.  Whether it's a sporting event, a disaster, a birthday party or a crowd of people on the street.  One photograph can tell a story as long as any book.  Photographs can conjure up emotions, feelings and desires in the viewer.  They are force an opinion onto the viewer or even take one away.  Photography as an art or as a way of remembering a moment helps us to re-live or to live for the first time an event from the past or even an event that never actually took place.

Hope this all makes sense.


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## celery (Jan 14, 2005)

The world and events that happen around us don't really exist anywhere but in our minds.  We don't know something exists until we have experienced it.  And our minds don't do the best job of containing the intangible information of life and the world around us.

Photographs take things that exist and put them right in front of us.


For example, how many people would have known about the tsunami without the aid of the media?  There are some people who didn't even know how to pronounce the word tsunami let alone know what one was.

Another example.  If I say Moscow, London, Paris, Egypt, Las Vegas or Antarctica.  Pretty much all of us can conjur up an image of what that place looks like (or at least parts of that place), even though we may never have been there.  And that is thanks to images.


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