Pixelated memories and digital wonders

MEMORIES are often ‘pixelated’ – the details diminish, the outlines blur, the images are grainy, and yet the essence remains — much like an old photograph tucked away in a forgotten album. Of the many pastimes becoming extinct like dinosaurs, one that I fondly remember is taking out all photo albums and reliving the past image by image. It was amusing to walk the corridors of a bygone era, wonder at an outlandish clothing trend, chuckle at an awkward moment, laugh at retro hairstyles, and the relatives frozen mid-blink — all of which lingers in memory like the aftertaste of a melting cheesecake.

At my nani’s place, in the drawing room, there was a cupboard — overstuffed, heavy — stacked with photo albums. Many lazy afternoons passed turning their pages. For us, albums were comfort food for the soul. I remember the sepia portraits, the pink-tinted cheeks and the carefully hand-painted eyebrows. Each photograph told a story — not just of people, but of an era.

I get nostalgic seeing my picture as a toddler wearing a woollen pink frock hand-knitted by my nani and my eyes glossed with a liner drawn with precision. And who can forget the grand studio adventures which amounted to stepping into a world of imagination and creativity? The backdrops of painted landscapes, cascading waterfalls, vintage furniture and interesting props gave us wings to fly. Innocence, excitement and naivety, all rolled into one.

Of course, we have come a long way from film rolls and negatives to digital wonders — drone photography, computer and digital photography, and more. Now, our phones carry terabytes of ‘memories’ — half of which are pictures of instagrammable food, memes and random screenshots of QR codes. We can take 100 shots in 10 seconds, and yet, somehow, we are never satisfied. Is the digital trend saving or consuming time? The art of photography has been democratised, and the art of deletion too.

Meanwhile, professional photography has turned into a market economy of dreams. Young couples freeze their joys through pre-wedding shoots, baby shower shoots, proposal shoots — perhaps next we will see “post-break-up show and glow” shoots. Themed backdrops, drone cameras and cinematic slow-motion turns — there’s something for every mood and budget.

Then there are the filters — Sunbeam, Glow, Retro, Cool, and my personal favourite, Red-eye-correction filter (I wonder why I end up looking like a blood-thirsty vampire in low-light conditions). We are all living Jeannies now in control of our personalised filter magic wands to turn ourselves into beauty legends. But while filters are fun to experiment with, some caution is a must. Let’s not risk our lives on cliffs or bridges or slippery rocks for that one perfect selfie — lest we become an eternal framed portrait, garland included.

The digital trend is surely here to stay. Undoubtedly, a faded photograph lacks clarity and sharpness, but it holds warmth — something no megapixel can replicate. Maybe it’s time to reopen those old albums to enjoy the musky smell of nostalgia!