Faded Photographs

Had the occasion to go through some old photos. I mean old photos. The black and white variety with the scalloped edges. Didn’t know who most of those people were and debated about keeping them for another fifty years or just tossing them.
As a society, we used to keep old photographs, because we knew their value. Not just the value of having a picture of Uncle Bob and Aunt Lois, but the value in terms of the process. Back then, we had a camera. One camera. A Kodak probably. The kind that was held about waist level as you looked through the lens trying to locate the people, things or places who you wanted in the picture. Wasn’t an easy task; called for a steady hand, a good eye and perfect lighting. Even then, it was no guarantee that the picture would come out to your satisfaction.
Once that process was repeated until the entire roll was exposed, the camera was opened and the film was taken to the drug store for developing. Or if you were lucky, to the local camera shop. “It’ll be ready in about a week” was the usual response from the clerk or pharmacist. The one hour photo had not yet been invented.
A week or so later, and back to pick up the pictures. Time to see just how good your photographic skills were; the moment of truth. Then when you got home, it was time to sit around the table and pass the pictures around, one by one. Sounds of delight or moans of disappointment over an opportunity missed.
Any pictures worthy of sharing with relatives were sent via US Mail, with words of caution to the mailman; Do Not Bend, Photos Enclosed. Sometimes negatives were taken back to the shop or drug store for extra prints, but usually the originals were sent for sharing. To new owners, to be put into albums or boxes. To be opened and pondered over years later by other generations. Generations that can take a picture and send it to a recipient across the street, country or world in less than a minute. Then to be saved to a computer file, or just deleted.
So I took another step forward into this technological age. A very reluctant step. I no longer saw the value of those pictures, the value of the effort. So I deleted them 21st Century style and into the trash they went.