I touched on this slightly in another blog. It’s about growing up never knew if my grandparents even smiled at all (I gathered this from the black and white photos in the family album).
We are still shackled by the analog world which tells us to stand straight and stare straight into the lenses (36 poses max).
Yet cameras are now built in the smart phones. It’s digital. It’s universal almost.
So why not say “cheese”! Every moment is now an event… the outing, the posting caught on camera.
Picture-taking used to be a Christmas event to document how babies have grown. To make post cards and greeting cards.
With online convenience, we now send greetings digitally. It’s fitting that I pen these lines an hour before the coming year of the Snake.
My parents used to whip up some poems to welcome the New Year and refresh our spirits.
It’s a necessary reboot.
Everyone works hard there in the East (more manual labor than Industrialized West). The hot weather makes you sweat all day.
A/C is for the white-collar folks.
If you were to document in photos a day in the life of an average worker in Vietnam, you would find that he/she gets up very early and tries to beat traffic and everyone else. He/she either goes for a run before sunrise or not at all.
Then strong coffee. Then chopping woods, so to speak . People either divide up a huge chunk of meat, or newspaper delivery folks a huge pile of papers, or lottery sellers got their tickets at predetermined gathering points.
When the sun glistens, open air markets are already in full swing: fish and fruits, eggs and noodle.
People have breakfast and people have fights.
All in a life of an average worker. Traffic smog and traffic accidents. Back to and from work. Then the night life. In full swing. Snacks on wheels at night market. Bangkok or Saigon. On the waterfront, or back in the alleys. Life at its rawest. Capture it on camera.
Let it go not. Why wait. Things won’t stay the same. In our life time, we saw this digital revolution. At least, future generations can deduce that their grandparents indeed say “Cheese” for the digital cameras. Back when I had my TV internship, that regional station was still hanging on to half film (with dark-room processing of news reels) and half tape. I am sure it has gone completely digital by now.
Loosen those tight grips of the analog shackle. We have yet seen the full implication of complete digitization. Who would still laminate a classic book, knowing that it’s available on Kindle. Yes, we have seen rising unemployment, which was a result of automation and digitization, which in turn, is causing underemployment for others. The 55-hour work week will soon be reduced to 35, to accommodate incoming workers.
Work less, enjoy life more. What else can we ask for standing on giants’ shoulders and inventions of the 21st century. Cheers!
Thang Nguyen 555 