How Will Our Most Important Memories Be Preserved?

Barcelona, Spain

I have been fortunate enough to remember when digital cameras did not exist. And then, I remember using one for the first time for a college project. The school owned the camera; I needed to borrow it because when I was introduced to digital photography, cameras were not exactly affordable. They were niche. I still remember that early Sony Mavica digital camera that stored 1.3MP images on a floppy disk. I was blown away. It was such a huge step forward in photo convenience. I took 5-6 photos of a vacant building. It was for a mock business plan; this would hypothetically be my business location. A few hours later, I was viewing those photos on a computer screen.

That business never opened, obviously; there is a drugstore at that location now. I did well on that project, but it didn’t change anything. But digital cameras were going to change everything.

My Early Experiences with Photography

Now, I’m not going to debate about which time was better; I think there are advantages and disadvantages of today’s technology, but I will say that capturing photos was significantly different than it is today. When photos were captured, they were done so with a purpose. Cameras were not rare; almost everyone had at least one, but capturing a photo was a more considered process since they used film. There was a limitation of mostly 36 photos, and cameras were mainly prominent during events: birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc. Random photographs would be taken, but not all the time, not like today, and since you could never see what you captured until you had your film developed by a photo lab, it could be months before you saw your photos. The entire film roll had to be used. It wasn’t uncommon to force a subject for those last few photos so you could finally take the film to be developed. At this point, you probably forget what you had captured. What would appear when you eventually picked up those physical photos from the photo lab could be a mystery. Hopefully, there were some keepers, but I don’t recall anyone being particularly surprised when the developed photos weren’t exactly what they expected.

And yes, some had Polaroid cameras for that first taste of instant gratification. Still, the photos were smaller, the quality was lower than the regular film cameras of the day, and the film was more expensive.

After development, the keepers were put in boxes, others in photo albums. They were kept for years and periodically looked back on. Many were forgotten until you found that box or album in your closet that was there for who knows how long. But if you have ever had the opportunity to look back through an old photo album, you will understand how joyous that process can be. The personal and touching memories, the people who were an essential part of your life, the first pets you grew up with that are now gone, the friends you haven’t seen in years, the old house you grew up in, the vacations you took, or the old car your parents used to have. It makes you thankful that this record exists. It’s a definitive time in your life. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

How Photography Has Changed

Today, we can take an unlimited number of photos on an unlimited number of subjects. We can manipulate them, remove things we don’t want, and add things we wish were there. We can make ourselves thinner and more muscular and appear more successful and happier than we are. In summary, it’s easy to create a life that never existed. Memories that never were. And when it’s increasingly easy to create that life, will we look back and remember what was or be conflicted with what may have been?

We are in a very transformative time for photography. These last few years have probably been the most significant shift in how a photograph is created and consumed. What used to be delegated to enjoying a physical picture has shifted to viewing it digitally. With that effortless access, becoming intimately connected with photography is challenging.

It is estimated that collectively, we take over 5 billion photos daily. That’s over 61,000 per second. In 2024, 94% of those were taken with smartphones. And where do most of those exist? Many exist in a digital archive to be forgotten and eventually lost to time.

How Quickly Time Passes

I’ve continually wondered how we will reflect on the photos we create today. We are taking more photographs of friends and family than ever, but will we remember them like we used to? Will the abundance and ubiquity cause us to move on without much of a second thought?

Photographs can be a tangible reminder that time moves faster than we realize. Moments that feel like they’ll last forever often slip away before we truly appreciate them. But we’ll have more of those moments, right? We can do this repeatedly: tomorrow, next month, five years from now.

The reality is we don’t have as much time as we think. We cannot escape the passage of time and life changes. It’s easy to look back and regret not spending enough time with those we love. We get busy with work, responsibilities, and life’s many distractions. But the truth is, we often don’t realize how much we miss until it’s too late. A photograph captures a moment in time, and the relationships we nurture and the time we invest in each other genuinely make life meaningful.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it’s up to us to preserve the moments that will mean the most to us years from now, stay connected with those we love after they are gone, and spark the memory of what once was. By printing and displaying photos, we tangibly preserve the lives and stories that shaped us. What we choose to photograph today, especially the things that hold the most profound meaning, will be the memories that endure and carry forward our personal histories. So take the time to capture images of those that matter most, print, display, and preserve them—because these images will be what is left behind. It will be how you remember.