Anyone interested in photography would be richer for having read On Photography by Susan Sontag. Everything I know about photography I have learned by reading (and shooting) and Susan's ideas about why we photographers do what we do are most enlightening. Sontag described a photo as memento mori: a reminder of our mortality.
My first job in the photographic industry was as a clerk in a camera store, selling cameras and film, and photo finishing. A few experiences from those days have stayed with me.
The most memorable was the time a woman, probably in her 60's, brought in a small, old black and white print of six young women sitting around a table. She wanted the photo copied and an enlargement made. No problem. Then she mentioned that this was the only picture she had of all her sisters, and that they had all passed away.
Memento mori.
From that day forward, I told everyone who bought a camera from me to take lots of pictures of their family and friends. Here were the rules: get close, get their faces, get them laughing and happy, get them in focus, and be sure to put the prints and negatives in a safe place. When all is said and done, these photographs will be cherished.
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