Saturday, October 23, 2010
A photography ramble - no, not lots of pictures!
This evening I am having some time from sharing photographs.
I am rambling again!
I am pondering on the value of photographs....what are they for?
I can tell you that I enjoy using my eyes to see what I would like to capture, I like to compose the shot and later to enhance the quality of the photograph a bit.
I am glad to share this with other people.
But I have to ask what other people want to see.
This has mainly come about because Bill is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of printing that needs doing after a major trip away.
He enjoys doing a few pages - but this is hundred percent more than just a few.
And so we wonder what the albums are for - and who will see them and how often will we look at them?
There will come a time - far in the future we hope - when our eyes will not see the pictures for we will be no more.
Who will want all our photographs?
I started to think about which old photos I value.
I have to say I am so glad we have pictures of the people who have been important amongst our ancestors; pictures taken of things those people have seen on days that were special to them mean very little to me.
And of course there were many less photos.
They didn't have the advantage of snapping away hundreds of times a day at no cost.
I am glad that the sights I have seen are captured for me to enjoy and to share.
I like it that I can pass on a quick impression of places and events I have experienced.
And that is the value of a computer. The photographs can be presented in many ways and enable ones family and friends a very brief insight of things that have been important to us - or they can easily be ignored if that is what is preferred, or maybe be put on hold for a more suitable time.
The albums we create - Bill creates - are beautiful. He is an admirable artist and craftsman.
But I feel slightly embarrassed (no very) about inflicting a whole album on somebody.
Are they interested? Is there something else they ought to be doing?
Are we boring them?
Good grief - if the albums are a problem to others and sometimes a problem for Bill to create, and maybe will hardly be looked at again, then maybe it is time to let them go.
We could have them on a lap top to have with us when we see people with no access to a computer and if suitable we could get that out.
I am sure we will continue to take photographs in the same way as before - in their hundreds and of similar subjects. We do this because it is fun and it feels creative.
But I will keep in mind that people are most interested to see people and beauty.
I finish with an example of how valuable a photograph is as an insight to a human being.
My grandfather would be 120 years old tomorrow- though of course has been gone for many a long year.
By the time I was a little girl he already seemed like an old man to me.
He was portly and sensible.
But finding the picture below of my grandfather opened up to me who he really was.
He was a good looking young man, looked somehow very charming.
He looks like fun could shine through the serious side of life. He looks like the sort of man who could love and lust - with eyes that it might be hard to say "no" to.
Much, much later we discovered that my grandmother had indeed found it hard to resist him!
That's the value of a photograph - a portrait which tells you about the person.
I don't deny the value of art to portray more about the artist - I hope my photographs achieve that.
Bill will finish this Thailand album - a half done album would be silly.
But maybe we will have to set about things differently and accept that most photographs are ephemeral - here today and gone tomorrow.
I hope you will enjoy seeing the photos that I post on the blog. I only ever put a small proportion of those taken.
On facebook I can put on many more - and they take only a moment to flick through them; or maybe one can pause on those that particularly interest us.
I always enjoy seeing other people's photos on facebook - or Picassa or Flicker.
And yes, that was a ramble. I am sure it doesn't really flow that well.
Back to normal tomorrow - the trip to James Bond Island and Panyee will appear.
I am rambling again!
I am pondering on the value of photographs....what are they for?
I can tell you that I enjoy using my eyes to see what I would like to capture, I like to compose the shot and later to enhance the quality of the photograph a bit.
I am glad to share this with other people.
But I have to ask what other people want to see.
This has mainly come about because Bill is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of printing that needs doing after a major trip away.
He enjoys doing a few pages - but this is hundred percent more than just a few.
And so we wonder what the albums are for - and who will see them and how often will we look at them?
There will come a time - far in the future we hope - when our eyes will not see the pictures for we will be no more.
Who will want all our photographs?
I started to think about which old photos I value.
I have to say I am so glad we have pictures of the people who have been important amongst our ancestors; pictures taken of things those people have seen on days that were special to them mean very little to me.
And of course there were many less photos.
They didn't have the advantage of snapping away hundreds of times a day at no cost.
I am glad that the sights I have seen are captured for me to enjoy and to share.
I like it that I can pass on a quick impression of places and events I have experienced.
And that is the value of a computer. The photographs can be presented in many ways and enable ones family and friends a very brief insight of things that have been important to us - or they can easily be ignored if that is what is preferred, or maybe be put on hold for a more suitable time.
The albums we create - Bill creates - are beautiful. He is an admirable artist and craftsman.
But I feel slightly embarrassed (no very) about inflicting a whole album on somebody.
Are they interested? Is there something else they ought to be doing?
Are we boring them?
Good grief - if the albums are a problem to others and sometimes a problem for Bill to create, and maybe will hardly be looked at again, then maybe it is time to let them go.
We could have them on a lap top to have with us when we see people with no access to a computer and if suitable we could get that out.
I am sure we will continue to take photographs in the same way as before - in their hundreds and of similar subjects. We do this because it is fun and it feels creative.
But I will keep in mind that people are most interested to see people and beauty.
I finish with an example of how valuable a photograph is as an insight to a human being.
My grandfather would be 120 years old tomorrow- though of course has been gone for many a long year.
By the time I was a little girl he already seemed like an old man to me.
He was portly and sensible.
But finding the picture below of my grandfather opened up to me who he really was.
He was a good looking young man, looked somehow very charming.
He looks like fun could shine through the serious side of life. He looks like the sort of man who could love and lust - with eyes that it might be hard to say "no" to.
Much, much later we discovered that my grandmother had indeed found it hard to resist him!
That's the value of a photograph - a portrait which tells you about the person.
I don't deny the value of art to portray more about the artist - I hope my photographs achieve that.
Bill will finish this Thailand album - a half done album would be silly.
But maybe we will have to set about things differently and accept that most photographs are ephemeral - here today and gone tomorrow.
I hope you will enjoy seeing the photos that I post on the blog. I only ever put a small proportion of those taken.
On facebook I can put on many more - and they take only a moment to flick through them; or maybe one can pause on those that particularly interest us.
I always enjoy seeing other people's photos on facebook - or Picassa or Flicker.
And yes, that was a ramble. I am sure it doesn't really flow that well.
Back to normal tomorrow - the trip to James Bond Island and Panyee will appear.
Labels: rambling thoughts
