Blogtember: Something Old

I am really surprised I still have this picture.  It was one of the first pictures that I ever took with a "digital" camera.  The quality is horrible, because I used a crap point and shoot camera that you could probably get for $20 at the time. 

That camera was given to me for Christmas one year.  It ate non-rechargeable AAA batteries like crazy.  Needless to say, I didn't use it very often! I didn't know anything about photography at the time or that it would become such a big part of my life.

 This picture was only taken because my sister was having a birthday party and I wanted to document her and her friends having fun and dressing up in my clothes.  Those hats? Mine.  That necklace the girl in purple is wearing? Mine.

Now, I have a question for you!

Do all pictures have to be artistic?

Because we are surrounded by photographs everyday, we tend to pass by photographs that end up looking like the one above.  I would consider it to be a Facebook picture; a snap shot of two friends that has no meaning to the viewer except for those who were there or actually know the two girls.

Personally, I think this picture carries a lot of meaning even though it's not artistic and pretty to look at.  It holds memories of that night.  Even if you weren't there and didn't know the story behind the picture, it is contains cultural significance: iconography, fashion trends from 2006, and a sense of youth.

But seriously, who flashes the peace sign without trying to be ironic anymore!? asians

Right now, I want to make a resolution to not discredit any of my family pictures for not looking artistic enough.  Memories are memories.  It doesn't matter what they look like, but they are always going to be important.

Do you think family snapshots are just as important as artistic photographs?