PHOTOGRAPHS - Guest Article

This week's Guest Article is 'Photographs' by Glad2bawoman.
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Yellowed Memories

Everyone has them, you do to. Even though we live in an age of greatly advanced technology where we can click photographs at will and share them with people all over the world thanks to virtual media, the photographs of yore still hold a very special position in our hearts.

Dig them out. They will probably be stashed away in a drawer, haphazardly and carelessly stuffed into old envelopes. Some of them will be arranged in neat rows in old fashioned photo albums, sticking to the plastic protective covers, yellowed and spotted. Wipe away the dust from the faces frozen in time. Old photographs are usually black and white, or sepia tinted. The people in them sit stiffly, facing the camera. Usually, they do not smile, the look at the camera with a slightly bemused expression – sometimes though, different moods, smiles are captured. They are rare, but, they are there nonetheless.

The faces in these photographs are treasured – try looking at them at a time in your life when you feel like the world’s burden is on your shoulders. They will transport you back to a time when the people around you were simple. Where you were a child on your mother, father or grandparent’s lap. Where people were not interested in pouting and posing because a camera was pointed at them – and they didn’t think taking photographs in a toilet was the cool thing to do. Where being polite, having manners, respect for elders and a love for reading and being non-judgemental were not alien concepts.

Old photographs go beyond relatives and familial reminisces of course. They can take you back to a time when your city and country was green, pristine and uncluttered by skyscrapers and high rises. Such photographs always evoke a sense of nostalgia and a desire to go back to the simple days when the joys of life were easier to come by. The comparison is distinct. Look at a photograph from now and compare it with one from long ago. You will see the difference. If it is a photograph of a place, you will see how much noise takes up the present day photos scenery. If it is a photo of people now, chances are the faces are contorted into ghastly pouts, eyes widened to look surprised and hands held up in gestured. Normalcy, natural beauty – they are indeed, things of the past.

Old, yellowed photographs showcasing relationships are the ones which touch the heart the most. Look at an old photograph of yourself with your mother or a sibling. With a father or a grandparent; and you will know what I mean. They will be even more meaningful if the loved one is no longer alive, or if you have been estranged from them. Perhaps looking at a photograph of your father, will make you forget the bitter words you exchanged? Perhaps an old photograph of you pulling at your little brothers hair will tug at your heartstrings, making you wish to see him and tell him you love him? Or still perhaps, a glance at a grandmother who is long gone will make you remember her voice – and that will gladden your heart and make you smile. Priceless treasures they are, because they hold tightly onto people and memories you have loved before. They help heal present relationships, by reminding you of the past.

Old photographs are a comfort to turn to when the soul is restless and needs to be soothed. The old faces of our grandparents, our own little selves, young parents, all serve to act as a catharsis to negative emotions – many of us cry when we look at them because we miss the beautiful, loving days of the past. That’s the closest we can get to physically going back to our childhood. So yes, even though fancy new gadgets can take instant pictures or photographs taken by high end cameras highlight every minute detail of the subject, old, faded photographs are always to be treasured.


Guest article from www.glad2bawoman.com. Glad2bawoman is an online media company for women with over 73,000 members. The articles on their site encompass various topics around Health, Empowerment, Relationships and Fashion.

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