Just discovered your Substack, Francesco! Your post on the beauty of lost photographs takes me back to the 1970s and 80s when all my photos were all made with slide film. It wasn’t until recently that I went through every… single… one… to identify the “keepers.” Some of them I digitized, some of them are still in the slide case, for future generations to ponder 🤔 For now I find your homework invitation intriguing. As a space clearer by profession, I can imagine framing a photo of someone I don’t know, not just to honor their life (hopefully a well lived one), but as a way to release any lingering pain or struggle they may have experienced in their lifetime and continues to energetically affect those living today… Anyway… long way of saying, I love your work.
Stephanie, this is more than a comment, your words made me believe even more in what we're doing here! I would love to see your early photos someday. Thank you so much, I also see you're writing about what home means to you, the love is going in both direction!
I love everything about this post, and I totally feel the same way. I especially like the last graphic, with the Feldmann text. It’s literally the subject of one of the novels I wrote.
Yes found slides are amazing! I actually have a whole post on my substack talking about how I found some slides of a woman named "Joan Shelton" and then eventually met her!
But yes, Francesco I definitely regularly think about the burden that we are leaving future generations by the unimaginable amount of photos we are leaving them. There is just TOO many photos. The amazing snapshots are going to be buried in mountains and mountains of photos of meals and screenshots of memes haha. In the analog age, our parent's generation had limits for the amount of photos you could have. Because of previous generation's lack of photos, there was probably a sense of excitement and pride to have many photos of their children or their candid moments. There was a sense of accomplishment. In the digital age, I would argue that this has reversed again and in some sense the sense of accomplishment is how few photos you can take (while still being able to capture your life), or perhaps not even how few photos you take but how few photos you keep. Curation, not content is king.
Sorry for the long rant there, this post has opened up a lot of ideas that have been running in my head for a while.
Also love the slides! My only critique would be that the red shift in the slides. I would use some type of photo editing software (if you use a mac you can even just use preview) and tweak some of the colour to try and bring out the image so the slide looks the way it was when it was captured.
Hi Michael, THANK YOU for your comment. I just read your post about Joan Shelton, what a story!!! It must have been so incredible, also the photos are so nice.
I agree with what you said: Curation, not content is king.
What has disappeared with time are those family shots, done by a serious photographer, that you can keep and look at for the rest of your life. Time will pass and as you said, going back into all of this content will feel useless and uninspiring for many.
Regarding the "red", thank you, let me try right now! The actual film looks like that.
Great post as always! I love the photo of the gentlemen in front of the mountain and one has a cigarette in his mouth. The red of his hat provides a pleasant contrast. Thank you for your insights
Occasionally will mention ‘those cardboard boxes’ most Families have.. you know.. or suitcases or shoeboxes in the attic or garage, public storage bins.. or in a closet..
This ‘mention’ is via Facebook mainly - to those Family, Friends, Acquaintances within my Feed
It’s really a Question of Succession actually haha ! And who will end up in pulling ‘stuff’ - ‘buried treasure’ really - those PHOTOS !
I finally ‘rescued 3 or 4 cardboard boxes a western 1st Cousin insisted were about to be put out with the garbage - per a sad ending to a marriage. Now that particular divorce was on the tail end of several of our late Family’s Estates.. ending up under control of his younger brother .. what has emerged is ‘not just negs, slides, Family Bible inc Births & Deaths, newspaper clips but WW 1 & 2 Service Records & Letters Home .. even ‘Missing In Action - Formal Notification
My point too is - around the world - Contents’ of Public Storage Lockers are coming up at Auction ! I’ve probably a Baker’s Dozen TERRABYTES of External Digital Storage I pulled from Storage ! 1/2 a million frames of Freelance & Personal work in Stills, Plus my ‘at home’ binders & boxes & Drives ! My Public Storage was Expropriated..
Lotta folks Photos gonna show up per your Excellent Post ! 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Just discovered your Substack, Francesco! Your post on the beauty of lost photographs takes me back to the 1970s and 80s when all my photos were all made with slide film. It wasn’t until recently that I went through every… single… one… to identify the “keepers.” Some of them I digitized, some of them are still in the slide case, for future generations to ponder 🤔 For now I find your homework invitation intriguing. As a space clearer by profession, I can imagine framing a photo of someone I don’t know, not just to honor their life (hopefully a well lived one), but as a way to release any lingering pain or struggle they may have experienced in their lifetime and continues to energetically affect those living today… Anyway… long way of saying, I love your work.
Stephanie, this is more than a comment, your words made me believe even more in what we're doing here! I would love to see your early photos someday. Thank you so much, I also see you're writing about what home means to you, the love is going in both direction!
Wow, what a nice post wrapping all this together. That alpine photo with the red hats and cigarette though, is lovely.
Thank you, Josh! I guess that's the beauty as well. You never know what you'll find hidden inside those forgotten slides.
I love everything about this post, and I totally feel the same way. I especially like the last graphic, with the Feldmann text. It’s literally the subject of one of the novels I wrote.
Thank you, Sonia! Oh interesting, I would love to read it
It's with my agent now, but hopefully she finds a publisher for it soon!
Yes found slides are amazing! I actually have a whole post on my substack talking about how I found some slides of a woman named "Joan Shelton" and then eventually met her!
But yes, Francesco I definitely regularly think about the burden that we are leaving future generations by the unimaginable amount of photos we are leaving them. There is just TOO many photos. The amazing snapshots are going to be buried in mountains and mountains of photos of meals and screenshots of memes haha. In the analog age, our parent's generation had limits for the amount of photos you could have. Because of previous generation's lack of photos, there was probably a sense of excitement and pride to have many photos of their children or their candid moments. There was a sense of accomplishment. In the digital age, I would argue that this has reversed again and in some sense the sense of accomplishment is how few photos you can take (while still being able to capture your life), or perhaps not even how few photos you take but how few photos you keep. Curation, not content is king.
Sorry for the long rant there, this post has opened up a lot of ideas that have been running in my head for a while.
Also love the slides! My only critique would be that the red shift in the slides. I would use some type of photo editing software (if you use a mac you can even just use preview) and tweak some of the colour to try and bring out the image so the slide looks the way it was when it was captured.
Hi Michael, THANK YOU for your comment. I just read your post about Joan Shelton, what a story!!! It must have been so incredible, also the photos are so nice.
I agree with what you said: Curation, not content is king.
What has disappeared with time are those family shots, done by a serious photographer, that you can keep and look at for the rest of your life. Time will pass and as you said, going back into all of this content will feel useless and uninspiring for many.
Regarding the "red", thank you, let me try right now! The actual film looks like that.
Great post as always! I love the photo of the gentlemen in front of the mountain and one has a cigarette in his mouth. The red of his hat provides a pleasant contrast. Thank you for your insights
Occasionally will mention ‘those cardboard boxes’ most Families have.. you know.. or suitcases or shoeboxes in the attic or garage, public storage bins.. or in a closet..
This ‘mention’ is via Facebook mainly - to those Family, Friends, Acquaintances within my Feed
It’s really a Question of Succession actually haha ! And who will end up in pulling ‘stuff’ - ‘buried treasure’ really - those PHOTOS !
I finally ‘rescued 3 or 4 cardboard boxes a western 1st Cousin insisted were about to be put out with the garbage - per a sad ending to a marriage. Now that particular divorce was on the tail end of several of our late Family’s Estates.. ending up under control of his younger brother .. what has emerged is ‘not just negs, slides, Family Bible inc Births & Deaths, newspaper clips but WW 1 & 2 Service Records & Letters Home .. even ‘Missing In Action - Formal Notification
My point too is - around the world - Contents’ of Public Storage Lockers are coming up at Auction ! I’ve probably a Baker’s Dozen TERRABYTES of External Digital Storage I pulled from Storage ! 1/2 a million frames of Freelance & Personal work in Stills, Plus my ‘at home’ binders & boxes & Drives ! My Public Storage was Expropriated..
Lotta folks Photos gonna show up per your Excellent Post ! 🦎🏴☠️🍁
I'm a proud owner of RISCATTI. ARCHIVIO ROMANTICO DELLE FOTO PERDUTE. Do you know it? (Great piece!)