Friday, December 19, 2008

Taking Photographs

I get a thrill when I take a photograph. It’s something about the moment of capture.  There is a transcendent connection flowing from my finger pushing the shutter release, through the camera, to the subject and back around again. I love the moment of acquisition, when I know I’ve got it. 

Everybody likes taking pictures. We have become a world of photo enthusiasts. What is interesting to me is that, like in life, each person has a different perspective. I’m always looking at composition, how everything fits together. Other people focus on telling a story, remembering the moment, or preserving the face of friends and family. 

Digital photography has been both a blessing and a curse. The immediacy and the ability to manipulate results are incredible, but the no film advantage becomes not quite so wonderful when you’re traveling with a high resolution camera and you end up with multiple image cards. (Traveling with a portable hard drive is an option). Making prints is no longer automatic, and as a result, I feel the loss of tactile pleasure; I no longer receive a shiny sheaf of freshly printed photos, still slightly smelly from emulsion, sitting in a falling apart paper envelope. I miss those days. 

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