From Black and White to Colour:

 

From Black and White to Colour:

How Photography Shaped My Life as the Eldest Child

Denzil Jayasinghe
·

The firstborn child gets a lot of attention from the parents and grandparents. They are the golden child, the heir of the family name, who has a bright future ahead. The world seems like a blank page, waiting for them to write their story.

But then the second child comes. And the third. And maybe even more. The firstborn child must share the attention and the resources with the siblings. The world has become more crowded and complicated. The firstborn child feels less special and more responsible.

Being the eldest is not easy. They must be the trailblazer, the guinea pig, who learns everything first. They must share, be patient, and make do with less. They must trade admiration for respect. They must watch their siblings enjoy the love that was once only theirs.

But being the eldest is also a blessing. They learn empathy, resilience, and leadership. They become independent, resourceful, and loving. They keep the stories, the traditions, and the memories of the family. They bridge the past and the present. They lead not by force but by example.

My father loved photography, but he did not have a camera. He borrowed one from a friend. I did not know this when I was young. I felt guilty when I saw the black and white albums, where I had more photos than my siblings.

When I was ten, I wanted to use my father’s camera. I looked for it in the house could not find it. I felt betrayed and hurt, thinking that my parents had lied to me. I thought they did not want me to handle their camera. I later learned that my father never owned a camera; he only borrowed one from a friend.

That memory sparked my passion for photography and storytelling. Years later, I became a self-learned photographer.

I got my family photos from my parents’ collections and albums. I also started my digital collections in 2000, when I switched to digital photography. I wondered how new technologies would change the way we remember the past. These past images are digital files that can be edited and shared on different platforms.

Recently, my cousin’s son in London added colour to an 80-year-old photo of my grandparents. He made them look so vivid and alive. The photo filled me with nostalgia and made me want to relive their lives.

My grandparents have now come back to life, some eighty years later

These old images are now preserved forever with the digital tools available. They will never fade or decay. Photography today is accessible to everyone. Anyone with a phone can be a photographer, editor, or simply share it with others.

I have a strange relationship with keeping and showing family photos. I feel responsible for preserving them for my grandparents’ descendants, as I am now the head of a large clan.

Photography
Family
Genealogy

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