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01Consuming Media 10/4/07 11:17 am Page 93

included in the Gallerix collection. She often ended her obligatory shopping with
a stop at Gallerix where, after selecting the greetings cards she needed, would look
for a new Marjolein Bastin print that she could buy as a small present or ‘reward’
to herself. Another couple we met had a group of pictures with a sailing theme they
planned to display on one wall at home. They described themselves as ‘boat
people’; sailing was a family hobby, and they were shopping for frames that would
tie this small collection together. One can imagine that this private picture display
reminds family members of holidays at sea, and affirms their common interest and
identity. However, the images people display at home are not only private; they also
serve a social function. At the same time that they express and affirm the iden-
tity/identities of a person or people who live there, they communicate that identity
to others.
A more obvious example of the social functions of vernacular images is the prac-
tice of showing photographs to other family members or to friends. Passing around
holiday snaps during a coffee break at work, for example, is a way to share the holiday
experience with others. The social and communicative functions of pictures are the
primary reasons most people take, purchase and display photographs. One of our
informants described simply carrying a camera and taking pictures as communicative
acts, something she does in order to demonstrate the importance of personal docu-
mentation to others she knows. The common practice of ordering double or even
triple prints when taking in film for developing underscores the double function of
photography, as personal memory and gift or medium of exchange. It also points to
the value these personal photographs have. By ordering double prints people avoid
the dilemma of parting with their only copy. They have one to keep and add to their
collection, and one to give away.
Giving or sending personal photographs is particularly important to families and
friends who are separated by long distances. Even in the contemporary media land-
scape of the Internet, e-mailing copies of photographs to family members remains an
important way of keeping in touch. Children are often central to a family’s history
because, as one informant expressed it, they change so fast. Multiple copies, enlarge-
ments and framed pictures of children make handy and much appreciated gifts for
grandparents, particular those who don’t get to see the children very often. When
distance prevents someone from attending an important family occasion, such as a
funeral, wedding, christening or birthday, people take account of this in the pictures
they take, by taking more pictures ‘to show what it was like’. Photographs provide a
means of bridging the gap, providing a kind of presence by proxy. One woman
showed us a picture she had taken of her husband lighting a candle in their local
church, in memory of his father. He could not afford the long journey to attend his
father’s funeral and had asked his wife to take the picture. They kept a copy for them-
selves and sent one to his mother.
Private pictures become integrated into other personal communication networks
in different ways. Family members separated by long distances often have agreed
times when they telephone each other, and we were told of a woman in Chile who

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