What do you think about the practice of taking photos and keeping souvenirs? Is it a good idea, considering the need to manage, sort, and maintain them, and the fact that they often evoke feelings of nostalgia and melancholia. Should we stop taking photos at all? How do you manage this side of your life?
No keep taking photos. Guaranteed 50 years from now you will want them.
Maybe 🤔 but can we desire photos (or things) that don’t even exist? and why would I want them then?
Unless you are a serious outlier, you won’t remember anything half as well as you think you will. And isn’t that the point of the “collect experiences, not things” schtick? Why bother doing anything if you don’t care whether or not you remember it.
I’m 21 and it scares me how much I’ve already forgotten from when I was 14-17. I’m so glad I found an old USB of mine lately with hundreds of photo’s on it that bring back all the memories. I didn’t realise life memories go away so fast. You think you remember your past. But when you look at it, you realise that you really don’t remember a very large amount of it.
To capture a moment that has a special emotional value for you and that you may want to share with others later. Basically I am for a minduful photography. When you know that the image you capture is of special value and makes you happy. What I detest are these tourist snappers who have to capture every corner with their bulky camera dangling from their sweaty necks.
Take photos. Take them all the time. You don’t even need to have a reason. I’m not that old, but I think all the time how I wish I had more pictures from my adolescent years. With film, you measured your photo taking opportunities. And when you did take one, there’s a ton of ways it could go wrong. The odds of getting exactly what you were looking at, in focus, without your thumb covering half the lens varied greatly. Hell, a decent camera was an investment. I used disposable cameras a ton… which were a total crap shoot. And then you had to STORE THE PICTURES. and holy hell, save those negatives. No telling when you might need to get a second print of that orange double exposure where it looks like your face is peering out of your cats asshole. Digital storage is only getting cheaper. Cameras are only getting better and cheaper. I didn’t have cell phone cameras that were decent until my 30s. TAKE PICTURES.
haha I’m the exact opposite of you. I only take pictures of things and situations that are truly meaninfful to me. I often do photos to capture an idea but I delete them after I used them somehow. I’m more the remembering guy and I rarely have the feeling of losing something preciois or the pressure to capture everything. I just let everything sink in and the memories will come up in the best moments on their own. Those memories may not be sharp like looking at a photo but the fuzziness makes you concentrate on the feelings which no camera will ever capture.
To each their own! I don’t have your memory unfortunately, haha.
takes up a minimal amount of data and requires no maintenance other than maybe transferring off your camera/phone to longer term storage.
They are wonderful for looking back on memories you would have never remembered even existed. And no you can’t miss something if you ron’t know it exists but there is still value there in remembering happiness or peace or success. Minimalism is not detachment.
If you only feel melancholy when reminiscing then you should analyze the reason for that (mental attitide about things that have past), not just ignoring your memories to avoid that feeling
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i would rather a photo as a souvenir over some random junk as a souvenir. now, i often do have to go in and declutter my photos app, though.
I love taking photos, so many great moments have been captured, wonderful people, and stunning locations. It is also a creative release.
Do what suits you best. For me, I either shoot analogue or limit the photos I take during notable moments. I.e. you don’t see me recording a concert on my phone, nudging purges out of the way for that selfie, or paparazzi-style blasting friends and family during get-togethers.
