Photos - for holding.

Last week I felt a bit glum and to cheer me up Jack got out his collection of slides to peruse (sometimes it's almost disgusting how wholesome that boy can be). Slides are a very beautiful thing, the colours always come out about a million times more vivid than reality - they make your life look like a Bognor postcard from the 70s. And there's something really absorbing in taking the slides out of their little folders and pushing them into the viewer so you can see them. There's only a small bag of slides (they're quite expensive) so Jack knows which pictures he has and when and where they were taken, it's so good.

Also last week my Mum pointed out an affectation of speech that I've managed to cultivate without really noticing . . . I say 'photo' instead of 'photograph' on all occassions. It's horrible, mucky language. 'Yeah, I photoed all of them', 'Sit still so I can photo you'. And so on.
I don't know when I stopped saying photograph but I can't seem to start again. I think it's because my camera use is so frequent and casual I can't bear to use such a formal term as 'photograph'. I never really get to hold any of my pictures and most of them get deleted.

I'd love to use an analog camera but I'm a chronic giver-upper, I got back one blank film once and wrote off using film ever again. Do you folks use 'proper' cameras - do you have collections of real life, touchable photographs or even slides? I applaud those that do, I think it's so important - photos you can touch are so much more precious. Would you agree?

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Of course the Queen of Toot wears a vintage polka-dot swimming cozzy. Goes without saying
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The Putting Green at Southwold.
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Reading Huckleberry Finn to Jack on our epic cycle around Ireland.
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That Jack with one of his many mistresses.
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A game of Christmas cricket. My brother is wearing the Christmas Leotard I made him - sometimes it's hard to think of presents to buy when you've only got stinky brothers.
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Paddling in the Dart.
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Walking on Dartmoor in that yellow scarf that I loved.

11 comments:

  1. why is scarf post tense, did it get vanished? x

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  2. Beautiful slides! I'm a halfer photo taker have lots of films to get developed but always am a bit disappointed after - the action is much better than the results for me!

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  3. The scarf got loved until it wasn't very yellow anymore, I guess it still exists but it's fallen from glory.
    This is interesting Lindsay, I can't imagine enjoying the process more than the pictures. What sort of photos do you take?

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  4. You are right the colours are quite amazing!
    I have boxes and boxes of slides, when one diligently documented artworks for future reference, now gathering dust in the attic...
    you have inspired me to go dig them out!

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  5. Yes you should - and document them further to show us!
    Brian and I have already organised a time to go through his trunk(!) of photos: old-fashioned nosey fun.
    Photos are so personal I think it's good to go through them with someone else.

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  6. i love looking at slides!
    the colors & stories that appear when the sun or other light gets through them.
    small treasures!

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  7. Lovely slides, the colours always come out so intense. I'm a chronic analogue camera user, in fact sometimes I find myself juggling 3 at once, it's quite terrible. I can agree with Lindsay about enjoying the process more (sometimes!), it's quite exciting imagining what the result will be.

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  8. I'm endlessly impressed by you guys - enjoying the process of taking pictures. Barmy.

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  9. what a lovely post and spectacular pictures… glad your chum chased away the glum

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  10. I think touchable photos are always better. I actually look through them but I have 1000's on my computer I don't even think about. I think it's because you can lose real photos easier so I find them more precious but they also bring bad childhood memories.

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  11. I feel like my digital photos are really precarious - my computer could die any day. Also, it's real easy to throw a photo in the bin on a computer but throwing away an actual photo tugs the heart a bit. Sorry to hear about your bad childhood memories Alex, hope you're ok.

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