Introduction

It was enlightening to me that in preparation for writing on this topic, I had to look up the definition of the word "snapshot". I am at an awkward age caught between a generation of people who largely lived without the internet and mobile phones, immersed in a generation of people who have never known a life without it. The snapshot is dead, replaced by Snapchat. Photos are so commonplace that they are used as a form of communication.

Webster defines a snapshot as "a casual photograph made typically by an amateur with a small handheld camera." Wikipedia elaborates further, saying that it is "a photograph that is 'shot' spontaneously and quickly, most often without artistic or journalistic intent." These definitions feel prehistoric.

There was a time when you took a picture and you had no idea how it looked until the film was developed. There was no obsession with perfection; you took one snapshot and you moved on with your life. It was something personal, meant for you and whomever the moment was shared with. Professional photos were taken so that you could hang them above the fireplace to share with those who you were willing to let into the intimate space of your home.

I am constantly plagued by nostalgia. The snap of a disposable camera's shutter was usually followed by the laughter of knowing you had accepted your fate. There was no huddling around to find the best one, no retaking of pictures if there wasn't an acceptable one, no pain in the face as you hold your fake smile for unnatural lengths. Memories were genuine and were not manufactured. The pictures were grainy and awkward and had red eyes and ugly clothes and funny looking furniture. We were truly amateurs with no intentions other than capturing that realness of that memory with an imperfect snapshot.