a trasformer of space and time

Photography changed the way space, distance between places, was viewed. Like railroads, photographs brought the world closer together. Now people could, for example, send a photograph of themselves to loved ones miles away and they could "see" each other daily. Even more so than space, photography transformed the concept of time. Up until this time, every moment was fleeting soon to become nothing more than a memory. Here one moment, gone the next with no way to stop it. Then photography came into the picture. Photography stopped time. It was a way to hold onto the past. Photographs became a way to possess moments in time like objects. As people aged and time went by, they could look back at themselves and their loved ones and could forever view how they used to be. Photography made it so time could be saved. This ability has multiplied tenfold since the mid 19th century.

Now days, it seems like everyone's a photographer. With point-and-shoot digital cameras available to just about everyone in American society, what used to be awe inspiring, the ability to freeze time, doesn't seem to even faze people anymore. More and more moments in time are being recorded, no matter how trivial the moment may be. On top of all this, the internet makes the world about the size of a small village. Someone in NY could take a picture of themselves and email it to a friend in China within seconds. The internet has made communication instantaneous. A message that once would have taken months, if not years, to receive, can now be done in seconds.