In our kitchen at home we have a digital photo frame. 24/7 it scrolls through hundreds of pictures of our family, going back decades. As with most photo albums, it reminds us almost exclusively of the good times. We take lots of photos of weddings and birthdays, of celebrations and milestones. Not so many of funerals or defeats.
Most photos are of us smiling. It doesn't seem right to take photos of people who are in pain or crying.
So, I guess most of us are not taking photos at the moment. Life is so ordinary, so stressful, so sad. What's the point of photos?
Well, I think we should take photos, and there are two types we could take:
1. Make a reason to be smiling. Create crazy, funny, happy, silly, unexpected moments during lockdown, and capture those.
2. To keep a record of this historical time. Yes, it is sad, stressful, upsetting, difficult and tiring. And so the photos might show that. They might show all of that in your eyes, your furrowed brow and your sloped shoulders. This is life right now. It is reality. And it is going to last for a while. Let's keep a record of it, so that in years to come we look back and remember what we survived. We will remember how dark it was, and how light it now is. We will remind ourselves in the future to not take for granted the life we will have then.
Let's take more photos.
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