TO KEEP, OR NOT TO KEEP?
In Known and Strange Things, Teju Cole reflects on a discussion about photography with an anonymous acquaintance who agreed that “what was important was the possibility of retention, not the actual retention itself."
The emerging trend of photographs taken with no intention of retention — proliferated by apps like Snapchat — was an affront to my photographic sensibilities. My innate belief was that the purpose of photography was to make fleeting moments visible for future time, and I could not fathom premeditated deletion. Nor, I’m sure, could those who pioneered photographic technologies and techniques for fixing the shadows (see also) to surfaces for future viewing.
However, gradually I made new observations about my own photographic habits, discovering that in fact, I did take photographs I had no intention of retaining — I did not actively discard them, but nor did I actively keep, store or care for them. Certainly, I do not need to keep every photograph I take, but perhaps I don't need to take so many in the first place.
I think it depends on the intention. Part of the appeal of something like Snapchat is the idea that you can date to share something with the world that will not be saved or stored forever and therefore have less regrets, perhaps allowing more freedom or the idea of liberation in a way. I don’t think this can be compared to the hundreds or thousands of images people take and then forget about which are stored on hard drives, etc. That is not deliberate disposal, it is just out of sight out of mind. As for photographers, I believe many photographs are taken and not used but this also is done to exercise our ability, sometimes leading up to a moment or a frame that we recognize as notable and worthy of sharing. My problem is knowing when to let go of the images that lead up to that moment.
January 23, 2018 by S.A.
When referring to the photographs I take without an intent to retain, I am not including my photographic 'b-sides' (that do amass on hard drives), I am mostly thinking about the images I take with my phone – a snap of a book in a bookshop in lieu of making a note of the title, or a poor photo of something I think may interest someone in particular which is almost immediately shared and forgotten. But we must also consider the 'b-sides'! Let us discuss the activity of deleting things already stored in our achives soon...
January 24, 2018 by Chloe