How long does it take to load a file..

["Robertson, Ezban" <ezban robertson homeauto com>]

Hi all,
I'm loading a series of jpeg images (also tried with png) and notice it
takes about 1.2 seconds to load each. Is this normal? I'm using the
function gdk_pixbuf_new_from_file.
Is there a better (i.e faster) alternative?

Thanks,
ER