I sometimes ask myself whether I should print my photographs.
I have an ambivalent feeling toward printing. Firstly, I will stress I have enough money to print many pictures. Still, I do not do it because a selection process would take a very long time for me to choose images suitable for printing. Also, I do not have enough space in our home in Warsaw to keep all these photographs physically on the shelf. Probably, I would have to get rid of most of my books. While thinking about all these things, I wondered whether publishing images on the website proves I am an active street photographer. If I need to prove anything to anyone, I do not have to do it; still, publishing pictures online is okay for me, and I do not need to feel the physicality of my photographs.
On the other hand, when I think of the physicality of my visual works of art, I sometimes miss taking printed versions of my images and simply enjoy watching them as I would like to read a book.
There’s a certain emotional connection that comes with holding a printed photograph, a feeling that is hard to replicate with digital images. I do not know what will happen with my website one hundred years after I die. Also, I do not know what will happen with all my printed photographs (for today [I wrote this text on the 3rd of April, 2024] I have hundreds of printed photos; comparing tens of thousands that I have on my computer, as files) two hundred years after my death. This uncertainty about the future of both mediums adds a layer of complexity to my photography choices.
If I knew which medium would be more durable, undoubtedly, I would invest more time and money in the more durable medium. For today, I focus only on publishing my picture on my blog because this activity has a significant advantage: writing. Of course, I could always write something on the back of my images. Still, a relatively small number of people would read my thoughts, contrary to the www.adammazek.com website. Still, I sometimes miss grabbing pictures, analyzing them, and enjoying them while holding them in my hand.
