I am extremely grateful for the collection of photographs my brother had digitized after my mother died. In the above picture, for example, I can see my grandmother(E.G.D.) with her sisters and parents. Her father was the younger brother of the Aunt Lucy I am currently researching. These photos and those like them were taken to preserve a time and place and were quite intentional.
My discomfort comes from a phrase I often hear that “we are doing this trip or this activity to make memories.” The emphasis is placed on the future enjoyment of looking back rather than on the sheer pleasure of the day. We don’t have to go out of our way to “make memories.” We might snap a photo, but we don’t focus on the recording but on the fun. Memories form on their own without the need to be curated.
So much of contemporary social media seems staged like that. Places are visited to take “selfies,” not to be seen. Meals are posted on Instagram to show how wonderful they look. Who knows what they taste like? The image matters , not the experience.
Maybe this is just me being a curmudgeon. Still I remember back in 1970 when a dear friend complained about the newly current word “lifestyle.” “Whatever happened to living a life, she asked. When did we have to think of ourselves as having a style?” I feel the same discomfort about “making memories.”
Saved By Words 
Live in the moment instead of trying to photograph everything under the sun.
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I wasn’t as articulate as I wanted, but you really nailed my idea.
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I agree about living the moment, but those old photographs are also important especially from the days before everyone had a camera. I have kept and labelled every picture I have from 1942 onwards.
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I wish I had been clearer. I too treasure old photos. I am just annoyed by the number of people who are not enjoying the now in their haste to record it.
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Fully understood
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I agree with you, and do not take photos of meals in restuarants, or consider making memories for some future date. Though my wife, who is almost 10 years younger, is very much of that frame of mind. She greatly enjoys her daily ‘Facebook memories’ notifications.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Clearly Julie is in the majority. Witness the non stop pictures of meals! U.S. curmudgeons must stick together.☺️
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I couldn’t agree more, Elizabeth. Life is for living, and unplanned moments often form the best memories.
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It’s the unplanned I treasure anyway.
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I have seen a lot of people making memories. Focus shifts from enjoying their time to creating the right impression.
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You said it perfectly.
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Sometimes it gets really intrusive, the constant photographing. But I also suspect, there will be a time when I enjoy looking at those images!
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I will too even though most of my travel pictures won’t include me!
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Yes, memories form on their own. When moments ‘happen’, be there, in the present. I think of this often at school when children take their own path of discovery instead of my pre-planned activities. As to social media photos, I feel the same way. Thank you for this post, Liz.
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Somehow I was sure you would understand what I was trying to say.
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I did! You know me well. 🙂
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