Lea & Lens

I recently pulled out an archived hard drive to view some of my older personal work. Maybe I was looking for inspiration, or maybe I was just feeling nostalgic. Either way, I was struck by the sheer volume of photos digitally stored that never see the light of day. I print a family photo book every year, and I also get prints from Artifact Uprising every few years to use in a few rotating displays in my home, but with those two things combined, we’re talking about only a few hundred images annually.

I used to save images in the thousands each year. Now, I focus on quality over quantity and tend to only save around 600-800 personal photos each year, give or take. It’s much more manageable and allows me to actually go back and view the images I’ve made without feeling overwhelmed.

And yet, I still much prefer the tangible experience of flipping through the photo books I’ve created. Which begs the question: Why do I hold onto hundreds of images every year that I don’t print and rarely (if ever) go back and revisit?

I suppose it’s sentiment. And I suppose that’s a worthwhile reason.