Life - in Technicolor or in living color?

[Sakrysta]

Lately I've been pondering how at any given event, there are people whose first reaction is to pull out their phone or camera and record it. For some strange reason this makes me sad. People are so consumed with recording something that they miss out on the full experience of it as it's happening.

I think the first time this hit me was at Dragon*Con at a Firefly panel. They showed a clip from Serenity, and I spent the first half trying to get my camera up to video it. About halfway thru I realized I wasn't actually getting to watch and enjoy the clip because I was trying to line up the camera. I was having to watch it on my tiny camera screen when I could be watching the big screen up there on the wall and just enjoying the moment.

I put my camera down.

I know a LOT of shutterbugs. I have a hard time not being frustrated with them. There's this little voice inside me that keeps screaming at them to stop trying to record life and just LIVE it already!

Am I crazy? Does anyone else feel this way?

 

[Christopher]

There's already a prototype for glasses with a built-in camera so that you can record things directly from your eyes' POV. Which I guess means people can have the best of both worlds -- experience events through their own eyes yet also be able to effortlessly record them for posterity. Or, if you're more cynical, it means it's too late to have any hope of reversing the trend of people recording everything.

There's even that story in the news lately about that fellow with a camera surgically implanted over his eye -- he was assaulted by employees at a French McDonald's who objected to the device for some reason and tried to tear it off, even after he showed them a doctor's note confirming that it was permanently implanted. The McDonald's is denying the assault, but he's got a pretty strong case since he has pictures of the event from his own camera implant's POV.

 

[B.J.]

I'm with you, Sakrysta. I don't like looking at everything through that lens or screen, I much prefer experiencing it myself.

When I was in high school, my dad used to record everything we did. And this was with one of those heavy over-the-shoulder full-size VHS tape video cameras! He has boxes of tapes that I'm not sure any of us have ever watched. My parents gave my wife and I a video camera when our first son was born, and I think we recorded about 2 hours of video total, before selling it about 10 years later. Heck, we barely ever take any still pictures, either!

 

[RoJoHen]

I like taking pictures of me and my friends, but that's about it, and I usually do it when nobody is prepared. I much prefer candid shots to posed shots.

 

[Kestra]

It really depends on the circumstance. It would never occur to me to record a clip of a movie! I tend to not take pictures and video, at least until I started a blog about a year ago. Since then I've been taking many more random pictures and I have to admit, it's nice to have images of some of these random moments. I would never let it interfere with my enjoyment of the moment, though.

 

[scotpens]

. . . When I was in high school, my dad used to record everything we did. And this was with one of those heavy over-the-shoulder full-size VHS tape video cameras!

No offense intended to your father, but a guy who has to record absolutely everything with a camera creeps me out a little.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I so agree, Sakrysta! Have you heard in the news about the guy who ran amok yesterday in a cinema and killed 12 people and injured 58? Apparently there were quite a lot of people who filmed it with their cell phones! Are they totally gaga???!!!!? People around them get hurt and instead of helping them they film?!


As for the everyday photographing - I tend to do that too. I have gigabytes of closeup photos of rare and pretty flowers, colourful sunsets and interesting buildings. I take them, save them and never look at them again. I think I'll use one of these rainy weekends to sort through them all, and delete quite a lot.

On the other hand, it can be fun to look at old pics. A retired colleague is too ill this year to attend the annual get-together, so I made a photo album for her with lots of pictures from her whole career at our office. Plus a few pics of what we look now, 10 years after she left. I passed the album around for everyone to sign and comment and now I have orders for 27 copies because many of the older colleagues said "oooh, look! Do you remember that party? Can you recall the name of this colleague? Wasn't that a nice field trip? Heehee, X still had hair, back then. - I must have such a photo album, too!"
Sometimes it can be nice to have a reminder of the past. One tends to forget so much.

 

[Holdfast]

Everyone seems to want to document everything these days, which I suppose speaks volumes for either their desire to later upload it somewhere as a virtual extension of ego or, more benignly, it's simply an expression of existential angst at the ephemerality of life.

I don't really see the appeal of taking lots of photos. I almost never use the camera in my phone, and only take my actual camera with me when I'm on holiday or doing something special.

Photos are nice to spark off memories if I look at them, but I only look at them very rarely. I suppose if you're a more frequent photo-browser (or, obviously, if photography is your trade or keen hobby), then it makes sense to take lots of snaps.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I know a LOT of shutterbugs. I have a hard time not being frustrated with them. There's this little voice inside me that keeps screaming at them to stop trying to record life and just LIVE it already!

Am I crazy? Does anyone else feel this way?

I don't get why it bothers you what other people are doing. If you're not into filming everything, don't film everything. Someone else is and you want to scream at them to stop because you think they are making a bad choice?

 

[Holdfast]

I know a LOT of shutterbugs. I have a hard time not being frustrated with them. There's this little voice inside me that keeps screaming at them to stop trying to record life and just LIVE it already!

Am I crazy? Does anyone else feel this way?

I don't get why it bothers you what other people are doing. If you're not into filming everything, don't film everything. Someone else is and you want to scream at them to stop because you think they are making a bad choice?

I don't know about Sakrysta's perspective on the issue, but for me it can feel a bit daft when you're out with a particularly rabid snapper, and they start taking photos of something "interesting" as you're walking down the street together, or of the food when you're served with something "pretty" at a restaurant, or whatever. I know a couple of people who do this a lot. And of course, the first snap isn't just right, so a second or third is needed, etc, etc.

Of course, it's not the end of the world or anything and these people's good points way outweigh this habit, but it's not a trait I'm particularly fond of as it disrupts the normal flow of life with them.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

If someone is invading your personal space with photos, fine. Might be time to start interjecting your middle finger over the top of your pretty lunch. I thought it was a more generalized "these people!" complaint.

Some people get a lot of joy out of taking photos and looking for the perfect shot.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I agree. It's part of the reason that, while pictures of a concert would be nice, that taking my camera to a concert event and trying to take pictures takes me out of the moment, making me feel distant. These things are meant to be enjoyed.

It does highly depend on what kind of event you take your camera to, however. I find social events are better for taking pictures.

 

[Mary Ann]

I used to take a lot of photos, but nowadays I often forget I'm carrying a camera. I may take a few photos, but far less than I used to with 35mm cameras. If I do take photos it's for an actual reason, such as practising my photography skills or taking photos of the kids for my dad, who lives on another continent. I agree, Sakrysta, that I'd rather savour the moment to its full potential rather than try to get the perfect shot of it.

 

[Eno]

Interesting thread. I am not in the habbit of snapping everything. I occassionally film music students to show them their technique.
I don't have any feelings either way about other people taking photos. If it was affecting me I may ask them to stop. Generally I am happy to allow others to pursue their lives without my interference.