The magical power of photographs
Photo by: Tam in Hoi An
Are you missing big bear hugs from family and friends, maybe even accidentally bumping into strangers at crowded bars and on busy streets, and just human touch and interaction in general? You’re in good company! Even those of us who aren’t technically isolated, but are lockdowned and sheltering with partners and children, still feel cut-off from friends, family, and our larger communities.
While COVID-19 isn’t something to mess around with and we have no real sense of how long it may be until we can again touch the world beyond our homes, we do have a way to get that physical connection that we crave.
How, you ask? Believe it or not, through the magical power of photographs.
Even with all the technology we have today, photographs still hold a place of relevance and reverence. Since the early 1800s, they have been a vehicle for inspiration, memory, and connection. Generations past, separated by migrations and wars, relied on them to keep loved ones and places close to their hearts, and their bodies too. Precious pictures were tucked into breast pockets and underneath pillows. It was as if the captured light of a photograph held a special energy stored in memories, features, and experiences that nurtured the one gazing at it, holding it.
Photo by: Zhanna in Chicago
As we live through our own challenging time, we can learn from those past generations.
Have you ever touched the photographed face of someone you love? Now is the time to try. There’s something poetic and satisfying in the action. Your fingers trace their image and reach across time and space, even beyond death, to touch them again.
My best friend recently told me that when she looks at baby pictures of her two sons (now 16 and 14) she can actually still feel the rolls of their baby thighs and the softness of their new skin, even after all these years. Similarly, when I open my laptop and am greeted by the wallpaper of my dapper tuxedo kitty, Oscar, who passed away just as this pandemic was starting, I can hear his rumbly purrs again, feel his velvety fur, and sense the weight of him in my arms.
Even when life was “normal,” my husband and I would often text random photographs to each other throughout our days. A picture from when we arrived in Venice, our expressions full of exhaustion and excitement. Or the view of the Eiffel Tower at night from the balcony of our hotel room. Or one of the many smiling selfies we snapped during our English Christmas. Though physically separated during our workday, those shared photographs took us instantly back to the same moment, the same place, the same sensations.
For almost 200 years, we have relied on photographs, whether of our travels or daily lives or the people and things we love, not just to preserve our memories, but to allow us to relive the entire experience, viscerally.
Hopefully, many of us will soon be reunited with the people and places we love, but in the meantime, as we navigate this unprecedented ocean of isolation, photographs can keep us connected. The human emotions they’ve captured and fill us up with are as powerful as holding someone’s hand, sharing a kiss, or even gently resting a hand on a friend’s back when they need you.
As we stay home, missing those we love, wishing we could feel their presence, let’s have a rummage through those boxes of old snapshots in the garage and attic. Or cozy up on our sofas to scroll through pictures saved on our phones or posted on our social media. Let’s embrace the magic of photographs, wrap our eyes around the ones we love, and feel them with us.
And because photography, like us, will prevail through this pandemic and into the next 200 years, use this time to also keep investing in them. You can plan for future memories, or book one of our innovative, virtual photo shoots. Either way, you’ll be capturing all the kisses, touches and sensations of being alive and together!