Click! Snap! Flash! Onomatopoeia.
- freshairnocares
- Jun 18, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2020
I have taken a LOT of photographs in the last 8 years of travel.
Some have been frame-able.
Others have been less than necessary.
Some have me in them.
Some have my friends.
Most photos, however, have been taken to try and capture the beauty that was before me.
A small reminder of the amazing things I had seen, opportunities I'd grabbed, or the phenomenal foods I'd feasted on. I snap away trying my best to conserve the moment so that one day, in the depth of winter when I am at home sitting all alone on my couch, eating ramen, and trying to stay warm under 503 blankets, I can scroll through my photos and find internal warmth from the happiness that is coursing through my cold cold veins, as difficult as it may be...
Dramatic, I know. But it is true. And I definitely go back and peruse. The photos aren't forgotten in an album shoved in the back of a closet. No, sir. I am that annoying person who uploads the 682 photos on Facebook so they are easily accessible (Lord knows iPhoto is less than reliable)
But here is the thing. Where do you draw the line? When is it too much? When do you stop experiencing the vacation yourself and it becomes more of which photography medium to use / seeing things only through your lens??
Only recently did I truly hash these questions / common accusations out in my head. Many people have asked, "Wow, did you even see [such and such a place]? Or were you just taking pictures?"
Truthfully, yes, it does take a bit to realize (sometimes) that you want to take a picture of something, get out the camera, turn it on, and snap the shot. However, in relation to the length of time you are standing there and taking in the sight.... it is only seconds! Let me take my picture sans judgement! I still saw the guards march across the plaza at Stockholm Palace. I was still able to take in the Colosseum. Shockingly, it didn't move an inch whilst I took that picture!
I think I have posted about all this before... but it's never a bad thing to remind people that photographs are sacred pieces of a trip that are meaningful to the photographer taking them. It doesn't matter if it seems insignificant to you... that random Spanish flower growing in the crack of a sidewalk may be a special sign to the person.... or an inside joke. Who knows! Just let it happen! Enjoy the ride! And reap the benefits of their photography when you get back and need a reminder of the fun you had in the depths of winter, like me! :)
Skål xx