“taking pictures all the time turns you into an observer. it automatically takes you out of the moment. for our trip to venice i wanted to be in the moment, with jack. but instead of kissing on the gondola, jack took 48 pictures on the gondola…”
- from 2 days in paris (movie)
one of the reasons i stopped taking as many photos as i did in the past is because i wanted to enjoy the moment.
for this trip to korea, there were many times where i was torn between wanting to get my camera out and wanting to leave it in my bag and enjoy myself. sometimes, taking pictures became a burden, and this was especially so when i was with friends whom i meet just once a year.
of course there were moments where it was perfectly natural to snap away, but this internal conflict happens mainly when i am at the height of having fun – because it is when i am enjoying myself the most that i want to capture the moment… then i think about the few seconds involved in getting the camera ready and making everyone pause in their merriment, and i throw away the idea and am completely in attendance.
the power of photographs is that they freeze a specific time and space, which is all good when you are the observer.
as a participant, i question my motives for wanting to take a picture.
why do i feel the need to capture this moment? so what if i can never find that moment again? will freezing it in pixels be able to bring it back? so what if it can be a trigger for beautiful memories? is it not more important to focus on creating more beautiful moments than to hold on to the past, however wonderful it was?
i find that the camera is a great companion when i am alone, and i can focus solely on looking for interesting sights and angles to shoot. but when i am in precious company, the poor camera is mostly relegated to the background, and rarely makes its appearance, if at all.
yeongdeungpo lotte dept store’s skypark
:’( ㅜㅜ
private room in ann house cafe
first signs of spring