Photography and Me

I like documenting my days and doings with pictures. I’ve never been committed enough to keep a journal, and I’m not a fan of useless souvenirs – so photos will serve me throughout my life to recall the people and places I’ve been fortunate enough to know. I consider photography a useful tool in reflection and appreciation for all I’ve been able to do. The albums I collect, reminders. During a recent trip I got into an argument about different photo taking philosophies. The depth and intensity of our discussion made me realize how defined my ideas are about amateur photography.

Quality versus Quantity

Thanks to the advent of the digital photograph machine it is now possible to click away at one subject without worrying about the costs of developing film. This is what I do, I take small variations of the same photograph. However, I only do this so when I get home I can erase all pictures save one – the best. I like to have only one picture of one thing. The idea is that when you keep multiple pictures viewing your five hundred pictures can be boring as hell. I am firmly in the anti-quantity camp.

No flash-square? or flash-panoramic?

Subjects: Unknown People, Landscapes, Friends, Myself

In that order. There is just no way to capture the essence of a place or an experience better than to take pictures of the local people, but I often don’t have the balls to snap the photos I want. On one hand I don’t want to be offensive, but on the other is taking someone’s picture offensive? I guess it depends. I find that offering a nice smile after taking it helps everybody feel better about it. The bulk of my pictures, however, are landscapes and cityscapes – mountains, trees, rivers, buildings, statues, bridges, etcetera. Even in art galleries I usually like aesthetically pleasing landscape paintings. I may be boring in this way, but nothing tickles me like a nice view and amazing buildings! Recently, I read an article in the Guardian Weekly saying that scientists have discovered that our love for the Golden Ratio (basically a rectangle in regard to paintings and photographs) is derived from an evolutionary emphasis on scanning the horizon. So I love panoramics because my ancestors developed acute horizontal sight because predators usually came from latitudes, and less frequently from above or below. Friends, I take for granted. I usually don’t have the wisdom to take lots of pictures of friends until we are parting ways. Various farewell parties in the past are the only known documentation or the elusive Musa Harb or exotic Brent Pantell. As for myself, I know what I look like. Despite being a master of the arm-length self portrait, pictures of me take up a miniscule percentage of pictures I take. However, I do it because I am convinced that when I am old I will want to see young me. Also, sending mom a picture occasionally makes her happy.

Capturing Reality versus Creating a Memory

Most people will delete a picture right away if someone’s eyes are closed, or if they are making a stupid face – especially the ladies. Taking a picture of a group of girls will probably take 3 or 4 attempts, because someone always looks ‘bad’. But I digress. I also will erase pictures that offend my sensibilities. However, my criteria for a bad picture has more to do with how I want to remember a place or an event. For example; at a crowded tourist attraction (let’s say an ancient colosseum) I will do my best to snap photos without people, even if it means neglecting the main attraction. So when flipping through my album you wouldn’t automatically think of large herds of tourists, even though that was the experience. A friend of mine once disagreed with me about this, saying that accurately portraying the day is more important than creating a pleasant impression. Since I enjoy the beauty of the places in my pictures, and think of perusing my albums as a pastime, I am for creating a positive memory with my pictures. I am happy to crop out a car at the bottom of a photograph of a castle.

However, there are limits. I will crop, but I will not change the color or image quality. That’s just cheating. Unless you are doing so with the intent to create art, you are truly perverting the experience. For my purposes (to create keepsakes of my days) it’s a no go. I also really don’t like to pose for pictures as if I am not posing for them, that really bothers me. Fake candid pictures are lame. However, I don’t mind posing for a picture with Jesus Christ (see below).

So, in an effort to conquer your human instinct of accumulating possessions – try photography! It’s an endless resource.

-Charles P. Pearson

Peace and Love