Recently a friend told me about her vacation in Peru. I asked if she took lots of pictures and she said no she didn’t take any. I thought, wow, that is weird but she went on to explain that she felt the need to be in every moment on this trip. That was more important than stopping to record images or memories with a camera.
As a photographer it seems strange that someone would not want to take a picture of a once in a lifetime experience. But this also made me think. When we obsess on a scene that we photograph, trying to get the perfect composition and light are we “being in the moment” with the scene or our cameras? Are we missing a some of joy of just being there or experiencing the place even more deeply? It is an interesting thing to ponder.
The photo, by the way, is just before sunrise in a place called White Point on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
Enjoy.
Interesting… I do not think I have the will power, not to shot when I am away from home… you could be on to something.
Great picture…great post. I do find myself torn sometimes between enjoying the moment and recording the moment. I want to make sure that I don’t use the camera to distance myself from the people in my pictures. Sometimes it’s too easy to hide behind the camera 🙂
We have this debate with my hubby, who is quite dedicated to his camera, all the time. Lucky for me, I get to the enjoy the moment without worrying about the photos because he is there to take care of that 🙂
I guess you have the best of both worlds. My wife feels exactly the same way.
I’d have to say I agree with Kevin..balance. There were people I met in Spain who took absolutely no pics for the entire trip. But then they would turn to some of the rest of us and ask us to email them pics! Hmm something not quite right about that either!