Two girls, somewhere in their early 20’s, sat down next to us on the beach last week. While – certain – demographics have always been a little more concerned with style over substance, it was somewhat amusing to see the girls spend the first 30 minutes posing and re-posing for just the perfect ‘carefree’ beach photo.
Between the primping of the hair and the adjustments to their bikinis to make them fit – just – right, they missed the fantastic clouds forming just offshore. The sea turned a brilliant blue, but I noticed that they were not shooting that direction as the wind was blowing the wrong way for flowing mane pictures.
In their attempt to prove to the world how wonderful their beach trip was, they spent more time creating a perception of their visit than actually enjoying their time – as the photos were intended to convey. Their ‘social moment’ superseded their real moment. The image was more important than the experience.
Of course this was not an isolated event. I’ve noticed similar behavior even in myself at times. I have been guilty of jockeying for just the right shot and not taking the time to enjoy the reality of the moment.
And we’ve been this way for a while…. Who doesn’t remember posing for holiday photos while the food on the table got cold?
I’m fairly certain that social media has taken us to a new level of obsession with the image over the experience. I recently read that more photos are made EVERY HOUR than were made in the totality of the first 100 years of photography. We, as a society, are documenting our lives like no other civilization has done before.
Are we losing our ability to enjoy the moment? Perhaps not. However, I am making a true attempt at spending more time present in the moment, rather than worrying about capturing it for future reflection or bragging rites or simple documentation of my travels.
Then again, my new Canon camera just arrived today.
Hey, wanna see what I had for lunch?
On a trip to Ft. Lauderdale with a friend I lost years ago to breast cancer, we spent a lot of time taking pictures of us. We may have missed some of the scenic moments while we were doing that, but you need to see that the experience was not just about the beach. It was about us spending time with each other… it was about her having those pictures in the hospital to look at as the chemo dripped or as she tried to find ways to focus on something besides the pain. It was about me seeing her smiling face in those captures moments and having the love we shared wash through me… replacing the grief. Those pieces of reality that we saved may not have been the beauty that everyone would find jaw dropping, but they were the most wonderful part of the journey.
The same with posing as the meal got cold. If you came together to share each other’s company and reconnect over a meal, the meal was not the reality you would cherish through the years. The funky pictures that friends and family will share long after we are out of the picture captured the important details.
There will be thousands of amazing clouds in your life, there may not be so many ‘bikini beach with a best friend’ moments. The camera just records the details of the moment. The photographer chooses the focus. That they chose a social, internal focus rather than external beauty surrounding them is what makes the world so beautiful and so complex.
We all see what we want to see as the most important for everyone. It’s not. It’s only the most important for me or you or the girls on the beach. The diversity we bring to each other is a gift to cherish.
That said… I’m very glad you focus on the beauty around you. I really am not interested in sharing two bikini girls beach moments and I am very interested in the world as seen through your eyes! A new Canon! Can’t wait to see what you find with that!