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! :)
