Back to the Future - Photography in 50 Years

Aside for all the buzz lately in the photo-sharing apps world with Instagram and Facebook coming together in 1B ways, I had a unique moment last week realizing the value of memories captured by photography for the generation to come.  In this case, I am that generation appreciating the value of rare photo enthusiasts from 50 years ago.

A long-distance relative sent me a pic made on his Polaroid (Instant camera) after a 1963 earthquake in Skopje, Macedonia.  He was on his tour from the US to visit his relatives and the place where he grew up as a little boy during World War II.  The frame captured has a timeless value for anyone appreciating that region and the art of photography in general.  "Back to the Future" could've been staged (or at least inspired) at that very moment.  Alas, Christopher Lloyd is missing in the picture...

Moving up 50 years into the present world and few (r)evolution cycles in the photo / software / high-tech industry:

• Everyone can be a photo enthusiast ranging from good enough image capturing on their mobile device to a high-quality, digital SLR camera that lot of families can afford today
• Everyone can access a good photo even if they are not related to a person through the multitude of social networks that bring people of interest together  
• In the way a photo could've been captured and presented instantly 50 years ago, today any photo can be socially acted on: shared, borrowed, reposted, followed, commented and appreciated instantly in the world (e.g. more than 100 "likes" in less than a day and mostly from folks out of my network)

Who knows what the next 50 years will bring to the photo capturing, acessing and social "actions", but I know my responsibiliy in capturing a piece of history for the generations to come.