a picture is worth 1000 words

There is a beautiful moment, in the wing of many hospitals where people are in palliative care. The moment is one of memory, remorse, joyfulness, love and regret.

This moment occurs when the patient is looking at old photographs with loved ones by their side, reminiscing about beautiful moments past and reminding them of the value and fullness of their life. The photographs meant so much. In some cases a photograph embodied a whole life, a picture represented an entire year, an entire decade or an entire marriage.

The value of old photos played such an important role in many lives. What is the role of the photograph today?

With the advent of the “selfie” and the unfortunate reality that many people’s entire photographic history is digital, what does a physical, tactile photograph mean to us?


Instead of having a single photograph represent an entire event in someone’s life, we have dozens, if not hundreds representing each day. Is there still such value in a single photograph? Is a picture still worth a thousand words? Or is it just worth a “double-tap”, “Like” or “Share”.

*Insert moment where author realizes his entire last 7 years of photographic life are only documented online or on the Instagram*

Be right back, need to invest in a photo album.



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