BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: With the advent of digital photography the practice of preserving memories in printed photographs has become a thing of the past.
Now there’s no need to go to a photo studio and wait for hours or days to get the photos developed. Just take pictures with a camera and save them on a memory card, flash drive or hard disk. You can see the photos whenever you want, send them to friends or post them on social media websites for thousands to see.
Although it has recently recovered, Kodak, the company that made photography accessible to many, filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The company, founded in 1892, had failed to adapt to developments in digital photography.
A survey conducted in Britain last year said that the popularity of sharing photos through social networking sites like Facebook signalled the end of the traditional photo album.
The majority of those polled said they preferred to archive their photos on computers, tablets or smartphones instead of photo albums, and many said they intended to post the photos on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Digital photography, with its better quality photos that can be stored for a long time, has made photo albums redundant, but there are still people who prefer their photos on paper.
Three years ago, Sahir Al Qudisy’s house back in Palestine burned down, the fire destroying, among other things, photo albums that contained visual records of cherished moments in his and his family’s life. He was inconsolable after the incident, not only because of the loss of the house but also everything inside it, including the photos.
“What is left are memories of my baby when he began to crawl, of my sister’s graduation, and other significant moments in life. I cannot explain how I was connected to the photo albums, because they contained parts of my life which cannot be brought back,” he said.
He said it gave him a different feeling whenever he opened the albums and looked at the photos, as compared to looking at photos in a mobile phone or a digital folder.
Dina Fuwad, a housewife, says she loves the traditional album because of the personal connection she feels whenever she opens one.
“In case of photos stored in devices, we sometimes forget them and delete them accidentally. Sometimes the device gets a virus; the life of the photos depends on the life of the device they are stored on,” she said.
“Photos captured digitally can be Photoshopped and altered, unlike those made through traditional means. This is the time of digital photography, although I don’t like it. The young generation is benefiting from this technology,” she added.
Adbah Faleh says the classic photo album brings back fond memories, something digital albums don’t do. And although photo production is quick in the digital medium, he is also of the view that digital photos do not show the reality because they can be altered.
Others, however, believe that printed photographs are passé in the digital age and people should adapt and take advantage of advancements in technology.
“I love old photos because no one can change them, compared to digital ones in which there’s a big possibility of alteration so it’s hard to tell whether it is original or has been doctored,” said Ammar Mohammad, a bank employee.
“But I also like digital photos because they look beautiful and are a product of modern technology. We now live in the modern age and we have to use new technology for our comfort and advancement. Digital is better than traditional,” he added.
Businessman Ayman Al Samran said: “I can’t deny I love the traditional photo album; it is an archive of our memories, but that does not mean I don’t want digital. With digital photography, I can make the changes I want, such as in colour, and I can remove any blemish, thus making the photo perfect. Digital photography is revolutionary.”
Digital photography also saves time and money, says financial expert Bassam Al Agah.
“We have a shelf full of photo albums because we used to take many photos of our children, but now with digital means we save space because they can be saved on a computer or memory stick. Now you can take as many photos as you like, so it saves money and time,” he said.
He said he appreciated the new technology because digital photos are clearer, beautiful and can be saved and organised easily.
Filipino expatriate Mike Saratan cites accessibility and long life as reasons why people switch to digital photography.
“You can have the photo in your mobile and share it with friends anytime. You can even take photos of documents such as a passport and send them through email, because many offices require documents and photos to be sent by email; gone are the days when hard copies were required to be submitted,” he said.
“They are also preserved well because you can make as many backups as you want; while in case of printed photos, once they fade or get wet, they’re done. Looking back, old photo albums are just memories of old times,” he added.
Gazlan Mimi, a sales representative, cannot anymore connect with traditional photography.
“I don’t like traditional photos; they’re old-fashioned and have poor quality. Most people nowadays prefer digital photos, which can be saved on the computer. However, one should save them properly because they may accidentally get deleted,” she said.
Dr Abdulaziz Al Hammadi, a sociologist, said those who take to photography as a hobby use whatever is available, but old people prefer the traditional method because it prevailed during their time, while digital photography is new and they cannot connect with it.
Old people always claimed things were better in earlier times, including photography, he added.
The advent of digital photography, however, has hit photo studios and professional photographers such as Emad Izat, a photographer for the past 25 years who runs a studio.
He decided to sell his printing machine at a low price when digital photography started to become popular.
“I sold the machine five years ago because people nowadays are relying on digital technology. They take photos through mobiles. But there is still demand for photo printing during special occasions like weddings and Eid. I still have a lab, but it is cheaper than before,” he said.
“This is the time of digital albums, which consist of slides and can hold a huge number of photos. The photographer can modify the size, colour and style depending on what the customer wants. This costs QR3,000 which includes the album and charges.”
Nowadays, he said, everyone can have a camera and a printer at home and there’s no need to go to studios. A digital camera is useful because it has a lot of features not available in a traditional one. The disadvantages are that the photos can get deleted if one presses a button by mistake, and anyone can alter the photos.
“As photographers we had many problems using traditional photography, but now they have been solved by new technology.”
Some in the photography business are taking advantage of new technology to thrive.
Chandran of Dubai Studio said that new technology had allowed them to diversify their business and offer more products and services.
He said there was still big demand for photo printing. In fact, because of new technology they could now print more photos -- up to 2,000 copies a day, he said.
He said some customers came to their studio to get photos saved on their mobile phones or memory sticks printed. In addition, people come to the studio for photos needed for official documents. There are also those who have their wedding photos printed.
The studio also creates and sells merchandise such as T-shirts and mugs especially printed with photos, in addition to selling accessories and devices used for photography.
The history of photography can be traced back to Chinese philosopher Mo Di and Greek mathematicians Aristotle and Euclid, who described a pinhole camera in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
Invented in the early decades of the 19th century, photography by means of the camera seemed able to capture more detail and information than traditional media, such as painting and sculpture.
Photography as a usable process goes back to the 1820s with the development of chemical photography.
The first permanent photoetching was an image produced in 1822 by the French inventor Nicephore Niepce, but it was destroyed in a later attempt to make prints from it.
Niépce again succeed in 1825 and made the ‘View from the Window at Le Gras’, the earliest surviving photograph from nature.
The earliest attempt to build a digital camera was made in 1975 by Steven Sasso, an engineer at Eastman Kodak.
In 1981, Sony unveiled the first consumer camera to use a charge-coupled device for eliminating the need for film.
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