what is a photograph worth?

we went and saw the movie The Bang Bang Club last night.  it was brilliant.  not only did it give me an insight into photo journalism, but also much more insight into the history of South Africa.  i know i have said it before, but this really is an amazing country, and i feel so privileged to live here.

It also made me think about what a photograph is worth, not in money sense, but to someone documenting history, whether it be for an individual or for documenting a world wide event.

i remember when i was little we used to go and visit my great aunt, who at the time was quite old.  she had outlived her husband, and the only thing then she had of him was an old black and white photograph.  every time we visited her i used to pick up this old photograph of him, in its old frame, and look at it - i used to ask my mum why the photograph was so worn at the part of his face.  my mum told me because my great aunt used to pick it up every day, look at it and stroke her finger across his face as if she was remembering all the good old days.  

i found this really sad.  i guess this wouldn't happen nowadays with the help of digital and managing to keep photos on file and printing them again if need be.  but i also found something wonderful in this old photograph that she had of her husband, and wondered what all the memories were that were conjured up when she looked at it.

to her that photo was worth reminders of a thousand moments...

i never met my grandfather.  below are some of the only photos of him that i have seen.  i just go by these photos and what my mum has told me about him.  apparently he was a very dashing man. my mum recently saw that i had these old photographs in my house and when she looked at them i saw her eyes well up.   

so what is a photograph worth? sometimes to someone everything..

it makes me want to help people capture moments of their lives even more...for moments that are gone but never forgotten...

My Grandfather

My mum with her brother and sister, and neighbours

My Grandfather and Grandma with my aunt

My Grandma with my aunt

My mum with her brother and sister

the other day i stumbled across the blog of Miss Moss and there was a blog post about the old photographs on the website of the lost gallery.  this is where thousands of old photographs have been found and put up.  it so interesting to see and wonder what the stories and memories are behind each one. definitely worth a look! :)

seize the whole essence....

"Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes."

Henri Cartier-Bresson

have been feeling so inspired recently to try and take my camera wherever i go.  

I love Henri Cartier-Bresson's work and he was inspired by people just going about their everyday life out on the street.  these are some of my favourite photographs of his..

so hopefully if you ever see me i will have my trusty camera by my side, or at least my iphone, to make sure i never miss a good moment :)

last weekend we had an event at our church and i decided to take my camera along.  i just managed to capture a few shots before we had to leave....

Willow

meet baby Willow.  you might remember, or see from a couple of blog posts back, that I took photos at my friend's, Emily, baby shower.  well, here is her little one...arriving in the world a week and a half ago.  I was so excited to finally meet her when we visited Emily and Ryan in hospital..I was also really eager to have a cuddle with her, but unfortunately she was sleeping and looked too peaceful to wake up.  


I have asked Emily and Ryan if I can document the first year of her life and then make a photograph book for them to show her when she is older.  this will be my first attempt to photograph babies, have seen some really stunning ideas to try...heres hoping my attempt goes ok! :)