The main thing that worries me in this digital age is that by jumping for the camera we might miss what is actually there. I feel this way with vacations too. Sure, we are there and can split our time, but having to stop to aim and shoot seems to take away that in-the-moment feeling for the fact that sometimes, we vacate to get away from all our daily technology. Some times we just want to be and feel.
This world is too image conscious. So even when you do take those pictures, and you are in them, you have to wonder how you look. Even if you don't care in the moment, which I think is sometimes just hidden away in the backs of our minds, we might care afterwards. Its not so much for the fact that we always have to look amazing, but because we want the image to portray the sentiment that was there when it was immortalized. And more often than not, the picture can come out looking cold or badly shot because real life isn't a portrait studio with perfect lighting. When we try to worry about getting the best shot during a 'moment' it is precisely the time that we trade off the moment for the picture, or we then try to recreate it artificially to look better than the real thing felt or looked at the time. Or sometimes, we miss the moment totally, in person and with the camera, when we run to grab the means to capture it. It doesn't always happen this way, but it does often enough that it makes you stop a bit.
Lately, Lyla has been super attached and lying on my chest very often, at night before bed, in the middle of the night or in the morning. Even though it can be a huge task for me to deal with so often, it is still sweet. I've thought of trying to take pictures of it, but I think its better to just enjoy it. I'm not about to give up my camera either, but some things just won't be in the family slide show. Thankfully, we have enough that is.
I feel you! Doesn't it add a sort of "fake-ness" to your vacation when you're always stopping to pose? This is why I like candid photos....snapping shots when people aren't looking, that way you really are enjoying the moment and people aren't posing and freaking out about how they look. I still appreciate non-candid family photos though. We need a good one of us! I think in the future we'll really love being able to look back though.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. There are some moments that are too intimate to truly capture on film. You just have to live them. And this is coming from an obsessive picture taker and filmer!
ReplyDeleteYea I know! Its both ways!!
ReplyDeleteYou've hit on one of my mottoes: "Everything's a trade-off in life." I can't, say, plow a field to save my life, but I can do things on a computer unheard of a generation ago. Have we lost something by becoming disconnected from the soil? Of course, but we've also gained something. We pick and we choose, both as a society and as individuals.
ReplyDeleteTreat your camera like I do my BlackBerry. Normally, I'm surgically attached to it. When I don't want to be bothered, I turn it off or put it away. (Okay, harder when your camera is also your phone, but still...)
All in all, though, I think the situation is a net gain!
Me too, Jack. Well said! Except that I actually don't carry my camera around outside too much, and even at home I don't always run for it (we have PLENTY of pics anyway!) For vacation, I would bring it, but I also try to have my 'moments'. And I wouldn't mind learning how to take care of myself gardening, food, shelter and clothing wise. In addition to it being very important and never knowing when it might come in handy, I just like to have a lot of skills. Old and new! :)
ReplyDeletei totally totally get that, ppl. seem to go places just to take pictures. not to enjoy what is going on. i dont get it. i take pictures cuz my memory is bad and its really the only way i remember stuff. i also write about my adventures which helps as well
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