PEOPLE LIKING THE OLD STUFF BETTER THAN THE NEW STUFF ANGST

Today I was corresponding with a photographer and they brought up something that totally resonated. They called it: "why do they always like the old stuff better than the new stuff" angst.

To be honest they brought this up as I was paying their old work more attention than their new work. I recognized this angst immediately as I've had this happen with my own photos. And it IS like someone saying to you "hey, I just wanted to say you totally looked great in those pants you wore 12 years ago."

So this was a really really valid angst and also a good question. When we collectively gravitate towards older works by artists is it just simple nostalgia or a sense of feeling that older photos are more like precious relics? Are we just desperate to think our photos are ultimately going to have validity as a historical record, so we focus on the earlier works as they move in that direction? Or do photos actually take time to settle, ageing like a fine wine? Or is it something else?   - Amy, editor of Excerpt.