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In Portuguese it’s known as ‘saudade’. In Welsh they call it ‘hiraeth’. Japanese ‘’. Nearly every language has a word for it, each with their own nuance to the feeling it evokes.

It’s a nostalgic longing for someplace or someone from your past (or is far away). A sense of incompleteness or a feeling that something’s missing. A memory that’s often fond, sometimes wistful, or tinged with sadness that at the same time can be filled with gratitude.

How ever it comes to you, it’s a certain reminder of the passage of time.

We can’t always be thinking about our memories, but using objects, ephemera and photography we can tap into them from time to time. It’s what makes us undeniably human.

Ephemera as identity

We already know the value of owning treasures and keepsakes that are personal to us. Through the things we wear and the ephemera we keep, we communicate our personal identities and cultural values. In ancient times these objects were buried with us, believed to give protection in the journey to the afterlife. Numerous examples of personal belongings have been found in burial sites across the world, from the to beautiful jewellery found in the  proving how the objects we keep make us who we are.

Within our lives these very things also serve to remind us of times past.

The ephemera of a Valentine card to prove that someone once thought dearly of another. A ‘wish you were here’ postcard sent with a thoughtful desire to share an experience. A concert ticket stub acting as a reminder of good times seeing a popular band of the day. Letters received by soldiers in wartime, read and re-read, then folded and held close for months on end to never forget the people who waited longingly for their return home from the front.

Now we have photographs to add to our collection of memories too.

Photography: Memories in your pocket

After the invention of photography, studio portraiture, carte-de-visites and tintypes were an accessible way for everyone to show others and ourselves who we were. Photo stalls at fairs, carnivals and the seaside were a cheap way for friends and family to remember a fun day out.

Now cameras on smartphones allow us to record life any time of day, and we can share the highlights of our lives, the anniversaries we celebrate, the places we visit, and the food we eat with ease.

Photographs give us our sense of belonging in the world and remind us of who we really are. Perhaps this feeling is best summed up in the ending scenes of (1973) when, after dumping Addie (his daughter) at her aunt’s house, Moze wistfully looks a photo of her on a ‘’ taken at the carnival they went to earlier in the film to remind of him of her.

Being able to carry a memory in your pocket, purse or on a phone keeps in our heart those who are special to us and the times and places we hold dear.

Alamy’s Memorybox: Share your memory and be in chance of winning £300!

You’re not alone if like us you sometimes read the comments on Youtube music videos finding shared stories about what the songs mean to others with heartwarming and heartbreaking memories!

You can now share your memory too through the power of photography. This is your chance to share your ‘authentic moment’ with Alamy’s Memorybox competition and be in the chance of winning £300!

All you have to do is:

• find an ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏimage that means something to you. It could be a place from a certain era, an event, concert, object, person or fashion item.
• note down the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏImage ID
• write in no more than 100 words your story or memory relating to the image
• email your story with the Image ID to memorybox@alamy.com or by commenting on Alamy’s Linkedin post announcing the competition.

Throughout the competition we’ll add highlighted entries we get to Alamy’s Memorybox. Check out what others have already shared by visiting the link and hovering over each image.

The closing date for entries is midnight BST Friday 9^th May 2025. Full T&Cs are .

Once all the entries are in we’ll judge our favourite to be the winner.

Let’s meet – FOCAL 40^th Anniversary event

If this has piqued your interest to the images and archive that ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏhas available within its 400million+ image and footage collection then we’d love to talk to you!

Our sales teams will be attending in the Imperial War Museum’s Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries in London on 24^th April 2025. We’ll be there to network with colleagues, partners and everyone who works in the TV and Film industry.

Please come and say hello – we’d be interested to hear about the work you do and how we can help with providing content for your projects. Also, if you have a story or memory you want to share in our competition – your past self could win you £300!

After all, in the ever-constant present we should never forget to make some of our experiences into memories. So that in the not-too-distant future we can be grateful to our younger selves and the photos we take for making us feel a sense of ‘²õ²¹³Ü»å²¹»å±ð’.