Self-documentation and Nostalgia for the Present

 

The glorious featureless grooved monolith of Embarcadero Substation, Folsom & Fremont. Taken using Camera Zoom FX on Android
The glorious featureless grooved monolith of Embarcadero Substation, Folsom & Fremont. Taken using Camera Zoom FX on Android

The Faux-Vintage Photo: Full Essay Parts I, II and III » Cyborgology.

This is a very interesting discussion of the possibility that the trend for

When I was in my late teens, and we used to have house parties when our parents were away, people would always be snapping photos at the party of the Strongbow-fueled teen excess. It would be a cheap 35mm camera, of course, and then in the next few days, people would take the film to get developed. There would often be a meetup later on to go through the photos of the party. I guess the modern equivalent is checking your Facebook feed the morning after.

The yearning for this faux-vintage, gritty look of photos could be said to be another manifestation of the belief in “real” experiences, artifacts and media. I’ve written about this before, and I keep meaning to write something more solid.

This article on The Awl says that “Your Beautiful Pictures Are Stupid“. I think that is an overstatement, and a symptom of a reaction to the ubiquity of these pictures. Certainly, there are a lot of them out there. People do take the pictures they make, and by extension themselves, very seriously indeed.

My take on it is do what you want, enjoy what you create, and don’t be taken in by the notion that process is more important than results*. Jump on a bandwagon if you want. Or don’t. Good examples that catch people’s eye will shine through no matter what.

*My recent efforts in “creating” “music” have been based on this idea. Er, look out!