Photographs: Digital or Hard Copy?

Past + Present​​

We all know the importance of photographs – connecting us to our past, reminding us of who we were, people we have met, feelings, and stories from the events. Documenting it with cameras from birth to old age as a reflection of our past.

Photographs give us an opportunity to create conversations with people. Real conversations. There are many ways to communicate with one another. But the best way is to meet face-to-face despite the convenience of technology. That is because you get to have deeper meanings through body language, tones, and vibes when you meet up with one another. It is more genuine somehow as compared to communicating with one another through devices instead.

Question is, since photographs are important... should you keep them in digital or hard copy?

(Photographs of Gwen and Chim between the year 1992 to 1997)

Hardcopy Photos​​

Camera phones were only introduced around the 2000s. Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras were expensive and considered to be used by the professionals. But things have changed now.

Those who were born in the 90s and earlier will not forget that feeling of getting your films to wash in the photo printing shop.

“You can come back to collect the photographs in a week's time.” That sentence which was commonly heard from the person who has served you at the photo printing shop. (It is definitely way faster now if you are looking to print your photographs)

Then you waited. Waited with anticipation. Wondering how your photographs would turn out to be.

When it was time for collection, the photographs were usually packed in those Kodak/Fujifilm big envelopes together with your film negatives.

You keep the photographs in your photo albums. Or maybe back in those Kodak/Fujifilm big envelopes. You put them in a box or a cabinet where you always keep all your photographs. You took them out once in a while to reminisce it. You showed them to your family/relatives/friends who came over to your place. You thought about what had happened when the photographs were taken. You shared the stories. You made conversations face to face with the closer ones in your life. Not through any devices.

Just pure human moments.

Besides using film cameras, DSLR/compact cameras and phone cameras can now be used as devices to enable printing of photographs by transferring the images taken using Secure Digital (SD) cards or Bluetooth functions.

That feeling when you hold the hard copy photographs with your hands, how do you feel when you compared it to using a device to view your photographs? Would the feelings and conversations made be the same too?

(Photograph of Chim with her first tricycle)

(Photograph of Gwen’s mother with her siblings)

(Photograph of Gwen’s parents' wedding day)

Digital Photographs​​

Things have been made easy for us nowadays. DSLR/compact cameras and phone cameras are more affordable and accessible now as compared to the past. We often feel uncomfortable if our phones are not with or near us because we are digitally connected - updating our lives by taking photographs via phone through Instagram/TikTok or messaging applications.

Digital photographs can be easily stored in hard drives. Instead of mailing hardcopy photographs or deliver personally to your family and friends, they can access to the photographs instantly through social media platforms. For long-term, it is also cheaper to buy hard drives to store all the photographs than getting them to be printed out.

You would not need to make space from your home just for the boxes of photographs.

Specific photographs can be easily found if you have stored them neatly in your portable hard drives.

So, why the hassle to find space in your house for your photographs and spending more money on printings too?

Digital or Hard Copy Photographs?​

Digital or hard copy photographs, which is ideal for you?

It could be the process of getting the photographs to be printed out and showing the hard copy photographs to your favorite people in your life. It could be seeing a lot of digital photographs neatly stored in your hard drives and you could easily view them as and when you want.

What matters is which brings more joy to you instead. Do remember to take photographs especially with your close ones before it gets too late to do so.

(Photograph of Gwen’s Kindergarten 2 graduation photoshoot day)