Imagining a life without Photos!

I’d often wonder to myself what would this world be without the introduction of photography? I mean seriously let’s for a brief second deduce that there is no such thing as photos; whoa... what would that be like? You know what challenges my thinking is how this world would turn out to be. With no photos we’d find our only solace in hand art which would remain the sole method to documenting how our historical leaders, inventors or even our grandparents looked. You know experts say that sans photos in our lives we would have a hard time remembering the past, understanding with clarity our history or learning of our heritage.

You will agree with me that it is in seeing, knowing and studying these facts through visuals that make us who we are. Our belief systems, our thinking style, our patriotism, our character and our personality are largely a product of visual-comprehension.  Famous photographs such as those of Abraham Lincoln famous portrait tell us about his character, till date lots are said and documented in books about the caring look in his eyes and his noble stature. With photographs it’s like we know the subject and it becomes not alien to us. A sense of familiarity is built psychologically with photographs. It is said every photo tells a story and rightly so because photographs help us never forget who we are and where we come from. 

 This Photograph called ‘last photograph of Lincoln from life’ was shot by Alexander Gardner at the Gardner’s gallery in Washington, D.C. on a Sunday dating 5^th February 1865.

 Photo-preservation endorses our thoughts, feelings and helps us relive important moments that shaped our life, influencing our present and our future; be it photographs of historical importance, our brave leaders, even family photographs, photos of you growing up or important occasions like weddings, birth and festivals. Well if photos didn’t exist we’d still use illustrations as our means of preserving the past. But do remember the biggest difference between illustrations and photographs is that in an illustration there is a large amount of interpretation by the artist who creates it. Photographs are truly what can capture the exact emotional representation at a specific moment in time. Think of famous portraits taken like the one in Times Square of the sailor kissing the nurse in elation on hearing of Japan’s surrender and ending of World War 2.

This photograph was shot by photo-journalist Alfred Eisenstaedt amidst all the chaos in Times Square on 14^th August 1945

So really a world without photography would have most certainly been incomplete. You wouldn’t be who you are and neither would I. Maybe we’d known a life very different from this one and one that is clouded by personal interpretation of our history, our heritage, our past and with that sketchy knowledge our present and future too would be affected. I am glad that isn’t the case though, today we surround ourselves in all kinds of recording devices. Photographs help us keep in touch with the past, ensure important moments are being preserved for future generations and in more ways than one make us who we are. So with pride and sheer happiness I am grateful to the recorded year 1827 when it was said that Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, took the world’s first photograph and set the photographic trend that has revolutionized the way the world looks at its past and its present.

This photograph was shot by the French inventor and pioneer in the field of Photography Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in the year 1827.

Author: Sheena Benedicta

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Source of facts mentioned : Google