I used to be decent with the camera once but rarely take pictures anymore. The joy has been wiped out of it in degrees - first with digital cameras and then with smartphones. The posts on this forum suggest this is a common problem. When traveling, I don't bother with taking pictures of places or the scenery because I only need to Google for much better quality ones in mind boggling numbers. There seems no need to add to the clutter unless I have a truly exceptional perspective. If I wanted to remember the places I have seen, searching online is easier than rummaging through the clutter of my phone.
My last worthy subject was J as a child. It was indeed an unique perspective with no alternate sources that told its story. I cherish those pictures unlike any other. Once she was old enough to take a decent selfie, there seemed to be little value in my efforts. In her "self-portraits" J was able to be who she was at that point in time. Those pictures were expressive in a way that my pictures of her were simply not. It was no longer about seizing a moment in a child's life that they were not even aware of.
I miss being able to see potential in the mundane as I was once able to - a crooked tree branch, a rusty metal pipe getting drenched in rain, a red car parked by a canary yellow wall - these are not subjects anyone particularly cares about. There was a time I could see magic there, see a picture in my head before I took it but I have lost that over the years.
Maybe what people like me really need is help in seeing the world in an artistic way once again. The female nude has been sketched and painted for thousands of years and yet it remains a worthy subject and its possibilities to the artist are far from exhausted. The same is true for the sunset picture - there are infinite ways to see it yet.
My last worthy subject was J as a child. It was indeed an unique perspective with no alternate sources that told its story. I cherish those pictures unlike any other. Once she was old enough to take a decent selfie, there seemed to be little value in my efforts. In her "self-portraits" J was able to be who she was at that point in time. Those pictures were expressive in a way that my pictures of her were simply not. It was no longer about seizing a moment in a child's life that they were not even aware of.
I miss being able to see potential in the mundane as I was once able to - a crooked tree branch, a rusty metal pipe getting drenched in rain, a red car parked by a canary yellow wall - these are not subjects anyone particularly cares about. There was a time I could see magic there, see a picture in my head before I took it but I have lost that over the years.
Maybe what people like me really need is help in seeing the world in an artistic way once again. The female nude has been sketched and painted for thousands of years and yet it remains a worthy subject and its possibilities to the artist are far from exhausted. The same is true for the sunset picture - there are infinite ways to see it yet.
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