Memories and Photography

As time passes, technology is constantly changing. What was once thought of as impossible, such as putting a man on the moon, has become reality, and as humanity continues to surpass these seemingly impossible tasks, we see things that were never thought possible in the past. However, one thing has remained constant throughout time, and continues to this very day: our desire to remember things. One such way we do this on a regular basis is through photography. After all, photographs show events exactly as they played out in the past, right? Unfortunately, while this can be true, as seen through textbooks, the internet, and even personal photo albums, as time has passed, technology has evolved, including technology used to take photos. At one point in time, photos were in black and white, and were quite expensive to take and develop. However, in today’s age, photos are something extremely common; at the push of a button, we can take photos, and instantly access them online. However, what is key is that another feature has become common in photos: editing. With today’s technology, it has become possible to completely edit photos, while at the same time, keeping them realistic. In fact, many people have careers in which they edit and alter photos on a daily basis, sometimes completely faking or changing what they originally depicted. While this seems like it would be good, the fact is that if people alter photos, how can we know what is actually true and what is not? Wouldn’t this impact our future memories? After all, if the photo is deceiving, then we won’t be able to remember the past exactly as it happened. Through these photos, I hope to show you, the reader, that photos are a great way to remember the past, however, they are NOT always reliable.