Thread by @ThinkInPeach

Had an interesting chat with a photographer friend. Discussing his archive he told the majority in there aren't his.

Rather, he buys old photos from markets (in S.E Asia) and 'rehomes' them.

In his words, he adopts orphaned photos and becomes their new father.

Within this library of images certain themes repeatedly occur: marriages, newborns, ancestral graves and travel -- speaking of the importance of these events to each family.

But beyond the individual households involved, this is a historical record of a nation's culture.

All these photos were meant to be private.

They weren't taken with the intention of sharing beyond a small circle. Each photo has a private meaning, unique to the family.

We -- as voyeurs -- get to peek into the most important moments of their lives.

Because of this intimacy, they maintain an almost sacred quality.

They speak of the true highs of their life.

Contrast this with today. Most photos are taken with the implicit knowledge they will be shared.

The majority place importance on their photos by how Instagramable they are.

In doing so, they remove a picture's private value and replace it with a public one.

This changes their importance and skews their power to document.

Today's photos have different meanings.

They tell a different story.

Please note, this isn't moralising about an impending societal collapse as a result of changing cultural norms.

It's merely interesting to me that a cultural record is being shaped by external, rather than internal, drivers.

A sign of the times.