Sam Stearns died earlier this month. I never met him. He’s the photographer who took the iconic picture of JFK Jr. saluting as his father’s casket goes by. I’m sure we’ve all see this photo.
I couldn’t tell you any other picture that Mr. Stearns took. In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized his name until I read in the paper that he had died.
This photo has personal significance to me, as I’m sure it does to many, many people. I was living in the Washington, DC area when Kennedy was president – and died. I remember the TV coverage of the funeral, and all the local activities leading up to it. Yet, this photo has become the symbol of that time. That’s the point I’m trying to make – photos matter! Not just journalistic photos – photos in general.
Reading of the photographer’s death reminded me of an exhibit of White House Photographer’s photos that was held during Johnson’s term in office – or was it Nixon’s? I was a fledgling photography enthusiast. I was struck by the quality and size of these prints. They were all black and white. Most of them had the distinctive grain pattern of Tri-X film. Grainy, but beautiful.
Photos still matter. We all need to make sure that our photos outlive us. It’s easy to take digital photos and store them on our computers until, inevitably, our hard disk crashes and we lose them.
Don’t just archive your digital images to DVDs. Don’t just post them to Flickr or Facebook, Print them! Make sure that when you’re dead and gone, someone will have the chance to hold them in their hands look at the grain pattern (okay, the digital noise pattern).
I’m really glad I saw those large, B&W photos taken 50+ years ago. It’s just not the same as seeing them on a computer screen. I’m also glad that my parents and grandparents kept those drawers full of pictures of our family taken over the decades.