Why We Shoot — To Remember

Photographs are triggers. There’s no way around it. A single image can take you to a place or a moment so vibrant that you can almost touch it. It is this character of photography which makes it a wonderful art to practice. Simply put, one of the reasons we take photographs is because we want to remember.

The moment you decide that you want to take a picture, the process of building a memory begins. It might be something important, sentimental, a fleeting emotion, the face of a loved one — the list goes on. But for whatever reason, this moment inspires you in some way, and you want to remember it forever. You want to preserve it just the way it was, and immortalize it with a photograph.

One of the best ways to remember something is to take a photograph of it. Much like writing, drawing, and painting, photography gives you the ability to take an idea and turn it into something worth reminiscing about. Photographs can be a source of stories and down the road, they will be reminders of past days which you can share with people.

It’s only natural for us as photographers to love things that can make us and other people smile, laugh or shed a tear. We have this common understanding of memory as a driving force in our work. Photographs are emotions burned on film and printed on paper. The need to remember things is a collective experience among us and we cherish it in our own little ways. And let’s face it, one of the worst things that could happen to any photographer is to forget.

How about you? Why do you shoot? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

written by cheeo on 2018-11-06 #culture #memory #thought #why-do-we-shoot #to-remember