I bet you think this post is about you.
In life, people naturally divide into a variety of polarizing categories:
Republicans vs. Democrats
Brexit vs. Not Exit
Yankees vs. Mets
Netflix vs. Hulu
Plain pizza vs. toppings
Picture people vs. not picture people
While I have opinions on all of these riveting topics, I'm going to focus on the last bullet point.
SO, I'm not sure if you've gotten the drift, but I LOVE taking pictures. I am that embarrassing friend who asks you to hold that pose while I take the picture using three different photographic mediums*. I will ask a stranger to take a picture of me in front of something awesome. I have been known to get down low to the ground in order to capture a shot. It's all about the angles.
Out in the trenches of travel, I always feel that I must justify my need to capture images. I like to file it under the umbrella of "just in case I need to prove that I am an awesome human being in a hostage situation, I will have ample proof".
Also, I am definitely in the running for early onset dementia, so I feel like photos will be helpful for my future grandkids to say,
"Grandma, I heard you were a badass in your early years... Oh, you don't remember? No worries! Here are 15,000 photographs to remind you of how cool you were!"
Anyway, unbelievably, I associate with people who do not like being in photos or even taking them. Though they cannot help being this way, I have made sure to annoy the anti-picture people into posing for at least one or two snaps a day on vacation.
Actually, they were candids and they had no idea I was taking the photo.
And to be fair, I totally get where anti-picture people are coming from. I honestly don't like my face in pictures, either. When people ask me to smile or act natural in a photo... this is typically what will appear on film:
In fact, to avoid the awkward photos, I began to develop an accidental signature pose: back to the camera and deuces up. To me, it says, "Fresh air, no cares", which has become the namesake of this blog. It demonstrates what traveling is to me: one giant exhale. It is letting go of every deadline, project, or worry that I'd been holding onto all year and just taking a nice, happy photo.
(It also makes for great cover photos on Facebook)
Anyway, whatever side of the picture war you fall into... be sure to capture the moments somehow. If it's not by your camera, let it be someone else's. If not that, then journal...buy souvenirs...blog!
Whatever you do, find a way to keep your travels a part of who you are. Always.
And don't worry if people judge you for documenting every last detail of your day right down to the meal. It's most likely that those people will be flipping through your pictures later on, loving every minute of reliving the trip.
: )
Skål xx
* I really meant two, but three sounded better