Scott! A beautiful and thoughtful story tied to your mother ❤️ I definitely find that photographing makes it much more enjoyable when it takes place and years after. Wherever there is interesting, beautiful, raw, cute, sad or just real moments I'm there to frame it. I don't at all see the contradiction between being the moment and shooting it. Always bringing my camera or my phone on my walks be it back home or while travelling.
Today we found a circular staircase in our hotel in Slovakia, my husband climbed it, it was followed by another and then a ladder. There was a lovely little tower at the top. I probably wont forget but the photos I took as he disappeared and reappeared will make me smile time and again !
Enjoyed reading this and the comments. Some wonder why I take so many photos with my iPhone. Usually they are of graffiti, trash cans, people's shoes, colors, old signs, cool clouds, etc. A few family photos/videos are included as well. I almost never take photos of famous landmarks. To me, that's boring. I like to find the weird, whimsical, and wonder in the world. Having my iPhone at ready is how I do that. If I couldn't travel without any kind of camera, I would still enjoy it and be grateful I wasn't adding more pics to the cloud, but afterward, I would feel there was something missing. I am a person who goes through my photos often, reliving the experience, marveling at a cool shot, thinking about a reel I might make. Still, I've recently had dreams about missing the perfect shot; my phone camera didn't work, it took too long to open, the image never came out, etc. Perhaps that is a bad sign.
Interesting to see how people approached this question. I feel like the world of taking photos has transformed so much in the last 40 years. I am old enough to have spent many years with a non-digital, film camera, when each photo cost money and time to produce. It was self-limiting, and it was an easier decision just to not take any at all.
I like the simplicity that comes with photography now on one hand, but also loathe it for how it has become such an automatic reflex, in that people seem compelled to take photos and videos almost continuously, most of which are garbage. I agree with what Amber says below regarding venues that ban photography. I do enjoy that, it removes the distraction not just for me, but also because I don't have to suffer through everyone else's instagrammery and tiktokery.
Thank you for the thoughtful piece and the mention, Scott. To be clear, I'm an avid photographer. My grandfather was a professional photographer and I grew up in a home with a darkroom. I have photos of star trails over Sedona that I took on film and developed with chemistry. To me, creating beautiful photos helps me truly see and appreciate the beauty around me.
But I do love spaces that don't allow phones. And places that specifically ban Meta glasses. The ubiquity of performative documentation feels like perpetual surveillance to those of us in the background. I think there's a growing frustration with feeling like all public spaces are fodder for content creation.
Well, as I recently discovered, because of my aphantasia my photos are my memories. So, yes, I would still travel but even without being able to take pictures, but it would be very upsetting.
Scott! A beautiful and thoughtful story tied to your mother ❤️ I definitely find that photographing makes it much more enjoyable when it takes place and years after. Wherever there is interesting, beautiful, raw, cute, sad or just real moments I'm there to frame it. I don't at all see the contradiction between being the moment and shooting it. Always bringing my camera or my phone on my walks be it back home or while travelling.
Today we found a circular staircase in our hotel in Slovakia, my husband climbed it, it was followed by another and then a ladder. There was a lovely little tower at the top. I probably wont forget but the photos I took as he disappeared and reappeared will make me smile time and again !
Enjoyed reading this and the comments. Some wonder why I take so many photos with my iPhone. Usually they are of graffiti, trash cans, people's shoes, colors, old signs, cool clouds, etc. A few family photos/videos are included as well. I almost never take photos of famous landmarks. To me, that's boring. I like to find the weird, whimsical, and wonder in the world. Having my iPhone at ready is how I do that. If I couldn't travel without any kind of camera, I would still enjoy it and be grateful I wasn't adding more pics to the cloud, but afterward, I would feel there was something missing. I am a person who goes through my photos often, reliving the experience, marveling at a cool shot, thinking about a reel I might make. Still, I've recently had dreams about missing the perfect shot; my phone camera didn't work, it took too long to open, the image never came out, etc. Perhaps that is a bad sign.
Interesting to see how people approached this question. I feel like the world of taking photos has transformed so much in the last 40 years. I am old enough to have spent many years with a non-digital, film camera, when each photo cost money and time to produce. It was self-limiting, and it was an easier decision just to not take any at all.
I like the simplicity that comes with photography now on one hand, but also loathe it for how it has become such an automatic reflex, in that people seem compelled to take photos and videos almost continuously, most of which are garbage. I agree with what Amber says below regarding venues that ban photography. I do enjoy that, it removes the distraction not just for me, but also because I don't have to suffer through everyone else's instagrammery and tiktokery.
Thank you for the thoughtful piece and the mention, Scott. To be clear, I'm an avid photographer. My grandfather was a professional photographer and I grew up in a home with a darkroom. I have photos of star trails over Sedona that I took on film and developed with chemistry. To me, creating beautiful photos helps me truly see and appreciate the beauty around me.
But I do love spaces that don't allow phones. And places that specifically ban Meta glasses. The ubiquity of performative documentation feels like perpetual surveillance to those of us in the background. I think there's a growing frustration with feeling like all public spaces are fodder for content creation.
Well, as I recently discovered, because of my aphantasia my photos are my memories. So, yes, I would still travel but even without being able to take pictures, but it would be very upsetting.