Most of what I write about relates to artistic flavors of photography and I even at times tend to shun those more informal, yet meaningful and personal photo's. I must admit, that approach has been a mistake I have made for far too long, and as a consequence have failed to take anywhere near enough of those kinds of photographs.
Even so, on our bookshelves sit 8 or 10 old albums of exactly those kinds of images. Most were taken with simple disposable cameras and are not of very good quality, yet they retain a sense of spontaneity that more polished images tend to neglect. More importantly, they possess more personal value than all of the so called higher quality images I've ever taken.
I believe one day in the far, far, future, the images that will carry the most value historically will be those old family type photo's. All of the high quality images of scenic wonders will over time lose their impact except as a connection to a transitional era of ecological order.
Yet, those simple, more personal images will resonate about who we were as a people and society, and future generations long removed from today will gaze in wonder about why that child was making that kind of face, or why did they dress up that dog, or what were all those candles doing on that cake.
Who knows, but I believe every single person who has ever taken a snapshot photograph of someone in his family has contributed to the visual history of our era. Those histories will in time become some of the most valuable pieces of information we can pass on to the future.
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