A Few Months Ago

I had to renew my passport. In the box containing the essential documents of my life was my first adult passport, with a black-and-white photo. I had not looked at this picture for a long time and I was struck by the tonal range and the print quality. It made me think that for a completely objective photograph, one that is a document more than a picture [but not the same kind of document as a mug shot], it was much more interesting than the digital passport photos made today—mostly because it is black and white. But also because this was done by a professional photographer, in a little, upstairs studio of the kind that used to shoot product photos for small advertising agencies along with head shots for models and the passport photos. This guy took one shot and printed it—unlike now, when some guy in a storefront with a Canon and an umbrella shoots six or so frames and lets you choose the one you like. There’s no investment there, so you get a different kind of picture.