Photography is Time
What’s your favorite aspect of photography?
Maybe it’s the gear (nothing wrong with that). Perhaps the creativity aspect of it. Maybe the various processes that have been used over photography’s lifespan. Possibly, how it makes you more sensitive to noticing things like light and shadow. Or just seeing things in general that you might have missed before?
Mine is time.
Photography is all about time for me. Not time as in how long or short the exposure is. Time, as in the moments that a photograph holds forever, not just in the content within the photograph, but also in how the photograph evokes a sense of time for you, the viewer.
If we are lucky, we get older. The people in our lives who are older than us also get older, and at some point, they stop. And all we have left are the pictures, those moments that something in us said, “Stop, I want to be able to remember this.”
Take a picture, it’ll last longer. It does. The neighborhood always looks the same.
The group of friends is always at the concert, hanging out at the bar, or at the coffee shop.
The party was never over. You never have to say, “Take me back,” because the vacation never ended.
You’re always at the family reunion.
The candles are forever lit on the cake.
This sense of time not only affects you as the viewer, but it also affects the photographer. How many times have you taken a photograph, and years later, upon viewing it, you can remember some random, arbitrary fact about that day that you never would have been able to otherwise?
A current social media phenomenon?
I spend a considerable amount of time on social media (perhaps too much time). I don’t post much these days, but I browse and read what other people post. There’s this one type of post I’ve seen repeatedly that bothers and intrigues me all at the same time:
Someone posts a photo of a historical figure or a turbulent time/event in history, and the image is in black and white. Without fail, there will be quite a few people commenting on how color photographs/color film existed when the picture in question was taken, so why not post the color version? Or that there’s a conspiracy to make people think that the event shown was long ago in the past by showing it in black and white.
Take these two photos, for example:
Now, if you had no context for the year, could you determine approximately when either of these photos was taken? I’ve always argued that context clues, such as people’s clothing and hairstyles, can help date a photograph. I was 20 years old in 1996, but what if you were born in 1996 or later? More than likely, you may not be familiar with the trends that were popular at that time. Those context clues wouldn't help, and for some people, the lack of color in a photo disrupts their sense of time.
This bothers me as a photographer because I know there are artistic as well as practical reasons why a photographer chooses to use black and white, and none of them have to do with any conspiracy. Grainy, black-and-white 35mm film (most likely Kodak Tri-X) was once a standard among documentary photographers and photojournalists. There was also a widely held belief at one time that color photography was reserved for amateurs and family snapshots. Not serious photo work.
Practical reasons were that printing color newspapers and magazines at one time was a costly operation, so black and white was simply a cost-saving measure. The only time a paper might spring for color is for a special event, such as the Olympics or a presidential visit.
It intrigues me because I use black and white film quite regularly. Are my photographs automatically considered old, antique, dated (or any other words you could use in their place) due to their lack of color?
More importantly, do I care?
Putting all that aside, months ago, a subscriber of the newsletter, Andy Adams (Hello Andy!), shared this on Threads:
It’s a fascinating visual experiment on just how much color can alter your perception of the time associated with a photograph and when it was taken. And I think that’s what’s going on when people are claiming there’s some ulterior motive going on online.
Housekeeping
This year has been fantastic for me so far, open-call-wise (check that on my resolutions for this year!).
Since last time, I’ve had a print in two(!) overseas exhibitions;
BBA One Shot Award Exhibition, in Berlin, Germany, where I was one of twenty shortlisted photographers.
rûm Magazine Issue VII, at the kollektiv:raum studio in Graz, Austria. There will also be a publication of this that I will obtain soon!
Then I’ve had a few in the US:
Two prints from some nights are on display at the Click! Plein Air exhibition at the Click Photography Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, from October 1-30th
I have a print in the Words, Words, Words Exhibition in the Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which runs from October 18th to November 8th
The Midwest Center for Photography in Wichita, Kansas, selected some nights for their Portfolio Platform 2025/2026, an online exhibition that runs from September 2025 to February 2026.
I even have a couple of shows here in Texas that I get to print and frame for!
October 4th, I’ll have a print at the Oak Cliff Art Walk. One night only, but I get to hang out in a pretty cool local art space in the city.
Four images were selected for "The Open Shutter” exhibition at the Contra Commons gallery in Bee Cave, Texas, approximately a 3-hour drive from Dallas. Exhibit runs from October 18th to November 7th.
I chickened out on applying for residencies this year, same with grants. Following through on the exhibitions was easy, and I felt I needed a bit more exhibition history before I take a run at either of those, so I’m calling that a 2026 resolution.
I’ve been lax on the bookbinding, so I might call it a year on that as well…maybe, I don’t know. We’ll see.
Until next time,
Laidric
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