The photographs we leave behind

I was listening to a podcast about film photography yesterday. I'm pretty sure the show's creators are at least a couple of decades younger than I am, so I was rather interested in the topic of the day: photographic legacy. Their take away message was that pictures of family and friends have more legacy value than your 'art'. Bollocks, says I. Both matter. Keep doing both. My parents have both passed on, and I can tell you that I am just as interested in the rather few 'arty' shots they left behind as I am in the plethora of family snapshots. Both sets of images are treasured possessions. It is also interesting whenever you unearth photographs made by your parents that were taken before they knew each other. Like photographs my mom made on an extended trip to Japan before she married my dad. I liked thinking about how she framed up her image of Mt. Fuji. She had an artist's eye, that is for sure. That is something about my mom that I definitely want to know about. And, there are plenty of family photos that I have culled over the years, like the ones with friends and acquaintances a few generations removed. Uncle Dingsbums's high school yearbook picture. Out you go! Family photos will remind folks of what you looked like and where you lived, things like that, while your arty shots will help them understand how you thought about the world. Plus, if you turn out to be the next Vivian Maier, your legacy could boost their fortunes in more tangible ways.