91–100 of 333 posts
I don't have many big regrets, but one of the few I have is not having enough photographs or videos from my teenage years to share with my partner and future generations.
When I see pictures of my grandmother, I of course care. I grew up around her and she didn’t pass until I was 28. Only 2 of my relatives from the next generation were old enough to know her.
Everyone else probably just shrugs.
I struggle to relate to this. I have aphantasia, which means I can’t see anything in my mind’s eye. This is most painful when I try to “imagine” my wife’s face, my family, friends, favorite parts of nature, etc, but am left with nothing. For me, this means that I struggle to remember things from my past beyond major life events. Even major events can be fuzzy for me. As a result, I’ve always tried to snap quick pictu…
As a fellow aphantasic, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve also learned over the years that photography is actually a gateway to being present for me. I spent the first 30+ years of my life in my head. Photography helps me pay attention to my surroundings, and is a kind of mindfulness practice in many ways. When I go back and look at old images, it always surprises me how much I’ve forgotten. I do think it can be taken too…
I’m curious how you capture pics. I use my iPhone. Over the past few years, I’ve also started taking short videos, as the iPhone video processing is just unbelievably good. The videos capture nice audio context, and really help me remember the “being” of the memory. iPhone pics are good too, but of course the sensor size is the main limitation. I have been thinking about looking for a dedicated small digital camera.
Curious to hear what you use!
I had a friend that spend a concert mad that someone was filming with an iPad on his peripheral vision. Kept talking about it and was the main topic when reviewing the concert to other friends.
Just live your life, you want to take pictures do, you don't don't, you want to post your whole life in Instagram do. Life is whatever you want it to be.
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My son and I went to Rome, and the ridiculous behaviors from people getting their must have shots is ridiculous. My favorite shots are selfies… one with the two of us on the tarmac in front of the plane on arrival, the other on a random street. I lost my wife to cancer, and regret that pre-kid, we took very few pictures relatively speaking, and I cherish the ones I have.
When you watch those episodes of Maury where they have a father-less baby up on stage, and they are trying to figure who the daddy is, you have to contend with the fact that there's an entire audience in-person and at-home that are just taking part in the sheer entertainment of what will ultimately be that child's most embarrassing and deep sorrow in life. Not only that, but we film the spectacle. This was a hit show…
I’d always wanted to go to Korea. I was so excited. I set out to explore and forgot my phone in the hotel. I walked around Seoul for twelve hours that day and experienced so many wonderful things. I remember them all vividly now, years later, but I have no photos of it. It was a relief to not document everything. I appreciated everything as a one-step process instead of a two-step process. I could just feel amazed, i…
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As a fellow aphantasic, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve also learned over the years that photography is actually a gateway to being present for me. I spent the first 30+ years of my life in my head. Photography helps me pay attention to my surroundings, and is a kind of mindfulness practice in many ways. When I go back and look at old images, it always surprises me how much I’ve forgotten. I do think it can be taken too…
Thanks for sharing. It’s very nice to hear from others with similar experiences. I agree about the mindfulness component too. I’m curious how you capture pics. I use my iPhone. Over the past few years, I’ve also started taking short videos, as the iPhone video processing is just unbelievably good. The videos capture nice audio context, and really help me remember the “being” of the memory. iPhone pics are good too, b…
But I still use my iPhone for some things - especially video.
There are some great compact micro four thirds cameras on the market that are better than a phone but still small enough to carry regularly. The “Micro Four Nerds” YouTube channel is a great resource if you’re curious. She covers many of the really compact every day carry cameras on the market and best lenses for various scenarios.
MFT cameras are a great gateway into the hobby, and some of the more vintage looking bodies just inspire me to take them everywhere and take photos.
Highly recommend looking at used gear on sites like mpb.com or keh.com. Can usually find lightly used equipment for significantly less than retail pricing.
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Ha,this could have been written by me as well. Aphantasia is so weird to try to describe to people. I've never been great about taking photos, but my wife always remembers. Recently spent some time consolidating all of the to Immich and being able to see the "memories" every day is incredible.
Awesome! When I explain it to people, I always ask them to close their eyes and picture an apple on a table. I then ask them what color the apple is. Everyone I’ve ever done this with (except a sibling) answers a color. I then say, “to me, there is no color, no apple, no table, no outline; nothing.” Always a leads to fun discussion :)
Well that was a fun side quest for the evening. One thing I read is aphantasia is common among siblings also.
In my interpretation the author of the article is doing this almost more out of respect for those around him than himself. As a photographer he was always preoccupied with looking for a good shot rather than enjoying the company he was with.
Even when he talks about the pictures of his child’s birth he looks at it through the lens of a professional photographer - it’s not about the memories attached to the photos, it’s about the composition being ‘generic’ vs the photo saying something interesting.
I feel like this article is really more about work/life balance than taking out your phone to grab a snapshot. That’s just how I read it. Also what a sad ending.
There must be a balance. Recently I met some people that were constantly filming and taking pictures of everything. It was ridiculous IMO, for the same reasons OP mentions. This is not new. For me, it began with the rise of the smartphone. So I made it a point not to waste my time photographing things. 10 years later, I regret having essentially no pictures of anything. In particular, no "good" or "frameable" picture…
When I was young and easily swayed, I took life advice from a well-known Dutch comedian (Youp van 't Hek) who loved to mock tourists taking those cringe “holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa” photos. The message was clear: tourist photos were tacky, and besides, you could always find a better photo in the gift shop anyway. So for years, I smugly avoided taking photos—too cool for clichés. It only hit me much later th…
There must be a balance. Recently I met some people that were constantly filming and taking pictures of everything. It was ridiculous IMO, for the same reasons OP mentions. This is not new. For me, it began with the rise of the smartphone. So I made it a point not to waste my time photographing things. 10 years later, I regret having essentially no pictures of anything. In particular, no "good" or "frameable" picture…
At least for my father in law, the habit of recording everything started when personal camcorders were first release. We have countless tape of completely random day to day life when my wife was little. There are obviously tapes of more important or memorable moments too, but he just always had a camcorder rolling.