Today’s children will never understand the joy of one hour photos. I woke up a few days ago and the movie One Hour Photo was on TV. It got me thinking about the excitement I used to get when I was a teenager and my mom gave me money to go get my disposable camera developed at a one hour photo place.
Taking pictures was always a fun activity. Getting the photos developed and seeing what came out was always another adventure. When using a camera with film, as opposed to a digital camera, you never knew what would pop up. Did the pictures come out well? Did you capture something funny in the background of a picture by accident? Each shot was a surprise.
Now obviously, digital cameras do have benefits: you can see the photos instantly, you can share them online and if it is an important event you are photographing you can review the shot immediately and if it didn’t come out well you can take another. When I was a teen, however, none of those things mattered. Sometimes the best and most memorable photos were the ones that came out wrong.
Today, one hour photo seems like a dated practice, but during its peak, it was a really awesome process. Running to the drug store to drop off and pick up my one hour photos was a big part of my childhood. Modern kids only know about digital cameras. They will never know what it is like to have to wait for a picture.
It’s kind of sad that my future child will never know the joy of one hour photos. I have fond memories of giggling and running up to the photo counter with my best friend hoping and wishing that the pictures we snuck of our crushes came out. I guess one hour photos are a thing of the past, but they will always have a special place in my heart.