What if you deleted it?

Shaun White-Bountiful, Utah-New Year's Eve, 2003.


I was digging through old digital images. From my first post-collegiate photography experiences, right after I bought my first digital SLR. I was wasting time on the web the other day and I came across the blog of a photographer I've always really admired: Kevin Zacher. Not only for what he's accomplished, but from his attitude towards photography and Art. Back in 2003, Kevin let me tag along on a shoot with Shaun White...yeah, the Olympic Gold Medalist. I had no idea what I was doing but Kevin was super fun to assist and once everything was up and running, he told me to shoot away. I piggy backed his lights by doing long exposures and using his "pop" when he took his photos. In a way these are more Kevin's photographs than mine. I remember trying to guess when he would take his shot and I actually did pretty good. I remember Kevin had no interest in digital but he did check out my camera and screen to test how the lights looked...cheaper than a Polaroid, right? Thinking about Kevin led me to think about this shoot I assisted him on which got me thinking about digital and film and got me thinking about....the following:

About Every six months I bust open "the box" which is filled with prints, contact sheets, sheets of film, slides...all the goodies from my pre-computer photography days. Over the years I've found a few gems in those contact sheets...a few images that I discarded years ago but for some reason now makes me do a double-take. It could be the subject-like a college friend that passed away from hitting his head while skateboarding. It could be a simple change in my aesthetic. I don't know.

But it got me thinking.

When I shoot digitally, I delete everything I don't deem "worthy" before I archive a job. If it's blurry, it doesn't quite look right, I'm not "into it" or whatever reason. Off into the atmosphere it goes...just wasted fossil fuels. But what if those are the last images taken of a person? What if they become rich and famous and cheat on their wives and the tabloids would pay millions for it?

What if it's just someone or something you really miss?

We live in an instant world and I'm a little worried about the legacy...long-term.