Why Do Photographs Matter?

Photographs communicate what is important to us. They provide us with recorded memories. We often have a strong urge to distil our most precious moments into images; ceremonies of birth and birthdays, marriages and anniversaries, holidays and new homes and other purchases, all recorded because they matter to us. Photographs are our personal story, a narrative of our lives, places we’ve visited, people we’ve met or those we love. They provide us with a legacy that we can share with others. ... Photographs matter because they freeze moments of our lives which may often pass unremarkably and seem to have little importance to us at the time. Their real significance, however, may be for others who search for the person we once were or the places we once knew. They can be small pieces of a jigsaw that complete the larger picture of our lives. They matter because they speak to the best and most generous part of our human nature - the desire to share what we find beautiful and interesting with others. Our images can involve a world of strangers in our life. How powerful is that? Photography is a complex language that has the ability to make us feel like artists. Whether we notice a beautiful landscape or an old man’s lined face and we want to capture it. We can use our photographs to express joy and sorrow, wonder and sympathy. Photography has the power to move us; grab our attention and speak directly to our emotions. It allows us to tell our story and show others our framing of the world around us. - This was condensed from an article by Declan O’Neill, a professional photographer who lives in the South Island, New Zealand.