Future Shock

           When I was in college a required reading was “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler. Written during the 1960’s, the author described the rapid changes in our society and the problems we would have trying to adjust to the ever-more-frequent changes to society and technology.

            I thought about that tonight as I paused at the library shelves holding my collection of negatives and slides. There, residing in many three ring binders, boxes and plastic sleeves, was several decades of photographic experience.

            Travels to national parks. Travels through many states. Drives down country roads. Visits to waterfalls and lakes. Icy cold snow, hot summer mist and refreshingly colorful fall days.

            All that effort. All those memories, preserved in miniature on tiny strips of plastic.

            And now, thanks to the “digital revolution”, nearly useless.

            Not long ago, if I wished to share one of those moments all I had to do was take the film to the local lab and have a print made. A few days and a few dollars later I had a print that I could slip into my Desktop Gallery for all to admire. Or I could put the print in a frame with a nice mat and hang it on the wall.

            Thanks to the recent changes in digital technology, however, most of those labs have gone out of business as most consumers print their own pictures at home. Those few that remain are labs that service the professional market and offer services at very high prices.

            There is a way to deal with the situation. All I need to do is purchase my own scanner, computer software and printer. After spending a couple of thousand dollars on these necessities I would have to spend hours setting up, calibrating and learning to use all of it. Then, according to the ads, I can enjoy the “freedom” of making my own photos.

            Unfortunately, I am finding out that “freedom is not free.” Kodak once advertised with the slogan “You push the button, we do the rest”. Now that has changed to “I push the button and I do the rest”.

            Many of today’s photographers love the new way of doing things. I guess I am just an old fashioned stubborn old man. When I look at those shelves I don’t see the joy of freedom. I see decades of memories that will only be release if I spend hundreds of hours converting the plastic into pixels. Those distant memories seem so distant now.

            My own Future Shock has arrived.