Ron Leach

While we usually devote this column to discussing trends in camera technology, every so often our industry does something special that’s worth a nod—in this case, a program to provide free portraits to the families of those currently serving in the U.S. military. Dubbed “Portraits of Love,” this project was developed by the PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) and will be showcased at the upcoming Big Photo Show in Los Angeles.

Earlier this month a national debate ensued after a freelance photographer captured the image of a man just before a New York subway train fatally struck him after he was pushed onto the tracks. The controversial photograph was subsequently published on the cover of the NY Post under the gruesome headline “DOOMED.”

Given the impressive pace of technological innovation in the photographic industry, there’s very little that makes us pause and say, “Really, you’re kidding, right?” But that was exactly my response after hearing from the head of Swedish startup Memoto who is preparing to launch a truly unique micro-device intended to let you “effortlessly travel back in time to that moment when you met the first love of your life, the day your daughter took her first step, or that night you laughed away the night with friends.”

For the past few years we’ve watched the popularity of camera phones grow exponentially, as devices on the Android and Apple iOS platforms have offered more and more features, higher resolution cameras, and the ability to download a myriad of both free and paid apps of interest to photographers and the general consumer.