{"id":5341,"date":"2026-04-18T12:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T10:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicariveiro.es\/?p=5341"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:59:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:59:48","slug":"imprimir-fotografias-era-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicariveiro.es\/en\/imprimir-fotografias-era-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"Analog vs digital photography: why should we print our photos again"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Printing photographs in the digital age<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Printing photographs in the digital age has become almost a rarity, and perhaps that\u2019s why today we take photos without thinking too much about them.<\/p>

We look at them for a couple of seconds.<\/p>

One.<\/p>

Then another.<\/p>

And another.<\/p>

They pile up on hard disks, on memory cards, in the cloud... in places we almost never return to. Images we don't touch, that take up no space, that have no real space.<\/p>

And yet, it's hard to delete them.<\/p>

As if, by doing so, we would lose something more.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Visitantes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Images that exist, but are no longer touched.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Photography with a scent of time<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It wasn't like that before. Not because it was better or worst.<\/p>

It was simply... different.<\/p>

The photography had a body. It wasn't there from the beginning, nor did it truly exist until you develope it.<\/p>

And when finally it appeared, you could touch it.<\/p>

Store it.<\/p>

Keep it in a drawer.<\/p>

Hang it on a wall.<\/p>

It had a place.\u00a0<\/p>

And it had something I now miss: it carried the scent of time.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fotograf\u00edas\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Photographs with scent of time and chemistry kept in drawers.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fotograf\u00eda\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Notes on how the print was developed.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

When images stop having a place<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Now images are there from the very first moment. They are made, soted and passed along.<\/p>

We don't stop long enough. We don't take the time to really look.<\/p>

We consume them.<\/p>

And in that process, almost without realizing it, photography has stopped being an object and become somehting that simply passes us by.<\/p>

Perhaps that's why printing photographs in the digital age makes more sense than ever.<\/p>

We no longer touch it.<\/p>

It takes up no physical space and has no place.<\/p>

And I think that is where everything is lost.<\/p>

We lose the sensory experience.<\/p>

Touch.<\/p>

That scent of time in the chemicals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The photobook: returning to touch images<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Where there was once waiting, there is now immediacy.<\/p>

And yet, in the middle of all this, something interesting emerged.<\/p>

The photobook.\u00a0<\/p>

At first, on one hand, it felt like a trend for weddings, communions, and family trips.\u00a0<\/p>

But on the other hand, it became an interesting and affordable tool for personal projects.\u00a0<\/p>

Making a photobook helps you slow down, choose \u2014which is the hardest part for a photographer\u2014, and then arrange and sequence images to build a narrative.<\/p>

All in all, it makes you think about what and how.<\/p>

And yet, it gives you back something that seemed lost: the possibility of touching the images again.\u00a0<\/p>

For me, the photobook is a bit of that.<\/p>

A new darkroom.<\/p>

Another place where photography regains a body. Where you can turn pages, pause and go back.<\/p>

One of the most beautiful ways to understand the importance of photobooks is to step into a place like The Library Project<\/em><\/a><\/strong> in Dublin.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Persona\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
The Library Project is a quiet space, entirely dedicated to photobooks, where you can easily lose yourself for a while browsing through the work of photographers from all over the world.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Persona\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
It is not a typical shop, nor a typical library... it is rather a place where books remain what they are: objects to be looked at slowly.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The darkroom ritual<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

But of course, all of this comes from somewhere.<\/p>

I\u2019m still surprised when I hear photographers talk about the magic of analogue photography.<\/p>

And I\u2019m not entirely sure why it surprises me.<\/p>

Because... it was.<\/p>

We didn\u2019t call it analogue photography back then.\u00a0<\/p>

It was simply... photography.<\/p>

And that was it.<\/p>

But there was something.<\/p>

A tingling in your stomach every time you placed the paper in the tray.<\/p>

Up... and down.<\/p>

Slowly.<\/p>

And suddenly it started to emerge.<\/p>

At first, almost nothing. A faint shadow that gradually darkened, slowly taking shape.\u00a0<\/p>

And you watching, waiting.\u00a0<\/p>

Especially hoping that the highlights wouldn\u2019t stay blank, that some texture would appear.<\/p>

Sometimes you would move the tray a little faster, as if that could make it happen, as if it might help.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Cuarto\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
AI-generated image of a darkroom<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Thinking about it now still feels curious to me.<\/p>

That paper already held the image before you could see it. It was there, but you couldn\u2019t see it yet.<\/p>

You had to go through the whole process.<\/p>

And there was something mysterious about it.<\/p>

It wasn\u2019t just that moment.<\/p>

It was everything else.<\/p>

The wet prints, the care when handling them, moving from one tray to another, the water running for a long time to wash that baryta paper.<\/p>

And the scent.<\/p>

That scent you could never quite describe, but if you smell it again, you recognize it instantly.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t