This is so thoughtful, this reminder of the difference between the enjoyment and retention of actual moments vs. attention for a set of contrived movements for an audience.
I am a filmmaker and a photographer... I can't document anything for shit.
I didn't start taking the photographs until way later in life and it took me years to get used to the "see moment, stop, compose moment, capture" versus "see moment, think it's pretty, move on, wish I had a photograph." And I still can't do it with animals and people.
And with video, oof. Every now and then I go on a trip or something and think, "Imma make the next Watchtower of Turkey!" and then I get maybe two minutes of some out-the-window footage and 15 seconds of a crowded street and I'm done. I tried making a video in Stockholm and across El Salvador and the results are embarrassing.
And my wife asks me to send pictures when I'm out with family or doing something she'd like to see but isn't around for, and I struggle to deliver.
In the end, for me, using a camera while being involved is like eating while walking. If I'm really hungry, if eating is the thing, I'd rather sit down to the meal. If walking is the thing, sure I can snack, but it's no meal.
What I have to do instead is specifically go out on a photo walk or choose to make a movie, which I roughly plan the shots out of in advance. Where the point is the imagery I'm capturing, not being there and definitely not participating.
I like your ten minutes for photos idea. Ironically that would help me take more while restricting most others to less.
I understand this. For my previous jobs I had to take a lot of photos, and I enjoyed it. But as soon I was on a personal trip I felt really uncomfortable holding the camera because the utility of it felt different somehow. In one way it probably felt like work, but now you mention it I think it's also because I felt as if I couldn't 'do it properly'. But then, that's also a shame, to have a complete lack of photos capturing moments in our lives... Tricky balance for sure.
A phenomenal piece of writing on a subject that's very close to my heart. Thanks for writing this.
Thanks for the positive feedback! always nice to know someone is reading and enjoying, aside from my dad...
This is so thoughtful, this reminder of the difference between the enjoyment and retention of actual moments vs. attention for a set of contrived movements for an audience.
Indeed, seems like such a difficult balance now
I am a filmmaker and a photographer... I can't document anything for shit.
I didn't start taking the photographs until way later in life and it took me years to get used to the "see moment, stop, compose moment, capture" versus "see moment, think it's pretty, move on, wish I had a photograph." And I still can't do it with animals and people.
And with video, oof. Every now and then I go on a trip or something and think, "Imma make the next Watchtower of Turkey!" and then I get maybe two minutes of some out-the-window footage and 15 seconds of a crowded street and I'm done. I tried making a video in Stockholm and across El Salvador and the results are embarrassing.
And my wife asks me to send pictures when I'm out with family or doing something she'd like to see but isn't around for, and I struggle to deliver.
In the end, for me, using a camera while being involved is like eating while walking. If I'm really hungry, if eating is the thing, I'd rather sit down to the meal. If walking is the thing, sure I can snack, but it's no meal.
What I have to do instead is specifically go out on a photo walk or choose to make a movie, which I roughly plan the shots out of in advance. Where the point is the imagery I'm capturing, not being there and definitely not participating.
I like your ten minutes for photos idea. Ironically that would help me take more while restricting most others to less.
I understand this. For my previous jobs I had to take a lot of photos, and I enjoyed it. But as soon I was on a personal trip I felt really uncomfortable holding the camera because the utility of it felt different somehow. In one way it probably felt like work, but now you mention it I think it's also because I felt as if I couldn't 'do it properly'. But then, that's also a shame, to have a complete lack of photos capturing moments in our lives... Tricky balance for sure.