On Looking Back: What 100 Days of Photo Archaeology Taught Me
*There are over 100 pictures in this post, you might need to give it a minute or two to let them all load*
I have over 30,000 photos on my phone. Thirty thousand moments I deemed worth capturing, then promptly forgot about — digital artifacts collecting dust in an endless scroll.
This bothered me more than it probably should have. We take pictures for a reason, don't we? Something made us pause, lift the camera, press the button. But then life moves forward, and those captured moments become background noise in our camera rolls.
So I made myself a promise: 100 days of going back.
The Challenge That Wasn't About Taking Pictures
For 100 days, I made myself a simple promise: instead of taking new photos, I'd go back through the ones I already had. One photo shared each day from the archive. It was like flipping through old photo albums, except these were scattered across years of camera rolls – vacations mixed with random Tuesday afternoons, breathtaking views next to random buildings.
What I Found in the Looking Back
Sometime, choosing felt impossible — too many forgotten moments that still held something. Other times, one image would leap out like it had been waiting for me to find it again. Photos I'd completely forgotten taking that stopped me in my tracks, moments that felt more vivid in the returning to them than they had in the living.
The Archaeology of Style
I thought I'd discover my photographic style through this challenge. What I actually discovered is that style isn't something I needed develop — it's something I already had, quietly accumulating in the choices made without thinking.
Every time you notice light a certain way, frame a shot just so, wait for the right moment — you're building a visual vocabulary that's distinctly yours. The challenge wasn't teaching me how to see; it was teaching me to trust how I already see.
Looking back revealed the photographer I'd been all along, the one making choices from instinct and paying attention to things that consistently draw my eye. My style was already there, patient, waiting for me to notice it.
The Unexpected Gift
The most surprising part wasn't what I learned about photography. It was how the practice changed my relationship with memory itself. These weren't just pictures anymore — they were breadcrumbs back to versions of myself I'd forgotten. Evidence of how I moved through the world on a random days, what caught my attention when I thought no one was watching.
Our phones hold so much more than we realize. Not just images, but proof of how we notice, what we value, where we find beauty in the everyday chaos. Your camera roll is a autobiography you didn't know you were writing.
If You're Thinking About Looking Back
I'm not saying everyone should spend 100 days in their photo archives. But maybe start with one. Pick a random month from last year and scroll through slowly. Look for the moments that still hold something. Notice what your past self thought worth saving.
You might find, like I did, that you've been building something beautiful all along. You just needed to take the time to look.
The challenge is over, but the looking back continues. Some habits are too good to break.
