Photographers have been at it for well over a hundred years recording developments
both significant and otherwise. Recently on August 19 to be precise world
photography day was celebrated. It is because the first announcement of
photograph was made on this day. It has been documented in photography history
books and encyclopaedia’s. The history and development of a place can be gauged
by photographs taken down the ages. Goa is an interesting case in point. Goa
was “Portuguese’ and a part of a large landmass otherwise controlled by the
British. C M Estibeiro who was a photographer in pre liberation Goa said it was
a different time. It was a time when photographers made their own skill. He
said “It was hard work; we would wait with patience and then take photographs.
We would not know the result of our efforts till the film was developed. Today
of course it is a different case in point. Technology has made it more
democratic and everyone has a smart phone with a camera in it. Now everyone
thinks they are a photographer and it means nothing. Unless we saw the negative,
we did not know what we had”. He was present at all the important incidents in
history of the state. He was employed with the Dept of Information and
Publicity, Govt of Goa. From liberation day to political and social events, he
was present.
He smiled and said that he would not be interested in being a
photographer today given all the technology available on hand. When asked if he
was a young man again would he like to be a photographer today, he smiled and
said that was something he had never considered because it would not be
possible.
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Capturing
a moment in a box has grown from the art of a few to a passion of millions.
What ever may be the standard. There will never be a shortage of memories
thanks to the millions of bytes captured. Of the memory’s past, the photographs
are still available. Perhaps it is time care was taken to protect them because
what is man without a history.
