View of the Mississippi River Valley from the ferry
Having been a Xangsta long before I delved into the worlds of Facebook and MySpace, I always valued the written word far more than photos as a means of expression. When Facebook and MySpace hit the scene and posting pictures really took off, I felt the all-encompassing wave of kissy face/modeling/red cup photos overwhelm my every move on the sites.
These photos became so plentiful and so ubiquitous that I often wondered how these daily photographers actually enjoyed themselves at parties and bars, as it seemed they spent every single moment posing and smiling and blowing kisses with one hand at the camera, while in their other hand-certainly
appearing to have fun on camera. But, also appearing to have missed out on natural, real fun as they were too busy behind a lens.
This overflow or over share invariably strengthened my original anti-photo convictions, but after having traveled some and grown up some more, I realize the value of having a camera around to capture moments.Too often have I found myself trying in vain to explain the beauty of a moment or a destination to people and suffering with the knowledge that they don't really understand what I'm talking about.
And though I still believe in the power of the written word, I've come to realize how much the couple thousand words that come from two pictures can assist in describing my experiences. Sadly-having sworn off cameras my whole life, my photo-op radar is seriously underdeveloped.
Lighted palm trees on Canal Street on New Year's Eve
For my trip to New Orleans, I planned ahead with my travel buddy to bring a camera and actually take pictures. But just planning wasn't enough, because I simply lacked the habit of putting together that when I witnessed something beautiful, interesting, or unique I should snap a shot. I just soaked up every moment and only when I felt the camera clunking around in the bag did I decide to take pics.
When I returned home still buzzing from that bayou air, I was utterly sobered by the results of my photographic efforts.
[For my best photos from the trip see Way Above, Above, and Below-though far from picture perfect, they do somewhat capture the dreamy, magical quality of the city.]
I can still close my eyes and relive moments from my travels though they are accompanied by the painful impotence of being unable to share these memories. I have thus resolved to take more photos, post more albums online and maybe even get in on some of that kissy face modeling action I stared down my nose at not so long ago-all in the name of more aptly encapsulating my travel experience, of course.
Streetcar (Disappointingly not named Desire) stop and rails along St. Charles Avenue
View of the Mississippi River Valley from the ferry
Lighted palm trees on Canal Street on New Year's Eve
Streetcar (Disappointingly not named Desire) stop and rails along St. Charles Avenue
Comments (30)
We took lots of photos of America and Canada, sometimes we regret not taking some photos.
I take a lot of pictures...I have like, 400 from when I was in Spain. I love photos.
I love taking photos on vacation. But I'm a photographer so its something I'm interested in and they aren't the posed/kissy face stuff.
When I travel, I take pictures of everything, which leads me to my own personal struggle of " SHOULD I take pictures"
"Should I take these pictures or just embrace and enjoy the moment"
I found that the most amazing parts of my trip couldn't be captured by camera anyways.
haha, my boyfriend and I take trips solely for the photo ops... I love recording everything, so photography is one of my favorite hobbies
sometimes I feel like I took too many pictures but not enough memories
wow, love the last one (:
I am DEFINITELY a photo person. I love pictures and taking them. I have used scenary pictures I have taken as wall decorations (cheap art!).
While in the Dominican Republic (albeit for almost 6 weeks), I took close to 900 pictures. The people I was with took far less, and often laughed everytime I took out the camera, but at the end of the trip they thanked me for it because then they too had some great pictures (I gave everyone copies of all of the pics I'd taken). So, it paid off. Plus, a lot of those, I definitely put on my wall. :)
Plus, since a lot of friends and family weren't with me, and I was gone for several weeks, I posted them on Facebook while I was there and people could keep up with what I was doing.
I spend most of my time away from the computer witha camera permanently attached to my hand. I have a serious love for photography. I have had numberless occasions when I just happened not to have my camera, or my camera was out of batteries, it really sucks.
well, you know what they say 'capture the moment' :)
Time spent taking a picture is never time waisted. Don't get me wrong, snap happy, random, point and shoot at nothing specific pictures kind of seem pointless to me. But when it comes to your memories, why not freeze them so you can save them for a lifetime?
@tigerdauphin@xanga - I totally agree. I can take hundreds of pictures on a trip but sometimes I feel like I miss out on stuff always being behind the camera.
I LOVE taking pictures but sometimes I get too into the photography that I forget to enjoy myself. I like to capture the moment but I like to be in the moment too =/ Too bad I'm always the one with the camera among my friends and family.
Nope. Whenever I go on vacation I take pictures of everything and everyone.
Xangsta. I like that word.
i take pictures constantly, even when im not travling. (:
I, as most people replying, love taking pictures. In fact, the last few years, I have been doing a family calender (putting everyone's bdays and anniversitys on along with a picture). Everyone that has gotten a calender has said how much they love it. Plus, I have 5 cousins under the age of 13. (The oldest is 13.) I've gotten some really cute pictures of the oldest ones playing with the younger ones that otherwise would have just been memories or forgotten about.
I personally enjoy taking a lot of pictures. It gives me options for the calender, but also wallpaper for my laptop. I've also noticed that I'm able to share pictures via Facebook because I have a lot of people asking me for pictures (at work and such) to see who I look like, or what my family looks like or what I did on a particular vacation.
Besides, if I don't take a lot of pictures, I feel like I missed a picture moment that could have been awesome to have, famiy or otherwise.
you shouldn't have let facebook and myspace define photography for you, because most of that stuff doesn't count anyway. a lot of it really is just camwhoring- though who can blame people? pictures are fun and it's fun to share, and when it does, facebook quality is bad. idk about myspace. take a look at flickr.
i'm a very avid photographer. throughout the last year, it wasn't uncommon for me to take 100-200 photos a day. then i get into the screening process and ultimately pick out 1-10 to post on flickr. my stuff ranges from normal documentary stuff to things i think really count as art. i have never felt like i missed an experience because i was taking pictures- it's a part of the way i see.
travel photography can get a little monotonous depending on where you're going and if you're taking cliche pictures or not, but i wouldn't pass it up, because who cares what other people think? memories can blur, but if you take a good shot, that will be there forever. (:
when we had a group party last year, we didnt take a photo together
i dont talk to some of them anymore
and it doesnt feel the same with the others.
if only.
I was in Spain for almost two months and have 7,000 pictures to show for it. I love taking pictures.
uh, yeah...
you should just stick to the written word.
I take more pictures when I travel than I do when I'm home. This last time I went to New York, I'm pretty sure I took 100 photos or more. Traveling brings out alot of different things inside of me and I try and catch as much of it as possible. Having the photos brings back a lot of memories of the time and place I was in.
I take a LOT of pictures when I travel.
I actually have to make myself stop taking pictures, so that I have some memories to go along with the photos.
I definitely regret not taking pictures when I go someplace cool!!
@BroadwayBound93@xanga - precisely what i was going to say, haha. but they DO help when trying to remember those memories in between. definitely worth the time.