Thematic Photographic 369 - Feeling Nostalgic

Two lost generations
London, ON
February 2016

Hey folks, Thematic Photographic is back (all together now: Yay!) Did you miss it? I know I did, and am glad to be returning to something of a normal writing and shooting cadence.

I took this picture in the CTV London newsroom, on an otherwise quiet night after I had finished my segment and was heading home. Television is not immune to the endless wave of change that's been repaving the media landscape, and I'm pretty sure a journalist from even a few years back would walk into the newsroom today and feel completely lost.

Which was why I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this stack of archived film reels from around the time when Gerald Ford was still the Commander in Chief. Yes, Canada had a PM named Trudeau then, but it was Pierre, the current PM Justin's dad.

The tape-based camera seen here is also on the way out as updated digital cameras become the core of a radically rethought mobile production platform. Now, video journalists can shoot, edit and upload entire packages from wherever they happen to be. The realities of TV news in the Internet/mobile/social age dictate ever more creative ways to make it happen. Fewer people, better, faster tools, tighter connections to our audience. The only constant may be change, but the occasional reminder of what it was like way back when probably isn't a bad thing, either. It keeps us humble. And focused.

Your turn: If you're feeling nostalgic, take a picture that suggests or evokes the theme (anything old, really) and share it on your blog or website. If it's already online, share it, too. Leave a comment here letting others know where to find your stuff, and feel free to visit other Thematic participants to share the joy. New to our weekly celebration of all things photographic? Click here for details. Otherwise, have fun with it, because that's why we do Thematic to begin with. Thanks!