When the eclipse happened a few months ago I found that the desire of getting some decent pictures of the event caused me to not be involved in the moment as much as I wanted. And while I did enjoy and marvel during the eclipse I left feeling like I didn’t fully experience it because I was behind the lens of my camera part of the time.
On the other side last year when I went to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo I forgot my camera and I found myself immersed in the show and I had a fuller experience than if I had sat behind the lens the whole time. Now, I did have my cell so I got some pictures with it so I didn’t leave with empty handed but the experience of the Tattoo was more memorable and fuller than the eclipse. I have reflected on these two experiences and how I was more satisfied with my experience with the Military Tattoo than the eclipse. Both were enjoyable and cool to watch, I just remember the Tattoo having a fuller experience.
A lot of it goes back to what pictures are supposed to be – something to help you remember the event, not be the memory itself. The invention of the digital camera brought in a new era. With film there are only so many shots on a roll so there was more thought into making sure the picture was be worthwhile. With a digital camera, however, we can snap snap snap away, not being judicious or thoughtful about the pictures we take. And this is what has happened, many are forever taking pictures with their cameras or cell phones but very few are rarely living in the moment. They are making the pictures or video their memory rather than being aides to help the personal memory of the event. Too many people are stuck behind the lens and only partially living in the moment.
Consider for a moment of how you tell others about the trip or hike you went on, or the cookies you made or the event you witnessed. Do you tell others the experience through many pictures, scrolling through them and using the pictures to tell the story? Or do you show a few pictures and from one picture expand and tell a story, using words and descriptions to explain what you experienced? This would be the difference between using pictures to help us remember or using them to be the memory for us. I contend it is better to live in the moment with fewer pictures than to partially experience the moment and then trying to remember it through many pictures later.
Lucky for us as long as we are living we can always change how we live. It is possible to take a few pictures or video clips of something but then putting down the camera and immersing ourselves in the moment. And that is one of the true cruxes of life, deciding how much to live in the moment. As one who has taken many pictures at times and hardly any at others my experiences as a whole are more fulfilling when I take fewer pictures and engage in the moment more.
What about you, do you find yourself constantly taking pictures when you are doing and experiencing things? Do you scroll through endless pictures in order to remember and tell the story of your experience or do you look at one picture that charges a memory with a story to follow? I think we would all find, on the whole, life is more fulfilling when we are looking beyond the lens and living in the moment more.
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