I used to take photos 📸

> In which I overuse (brackets) and "quotes" while ruminating...

I looked at some old prints of photos taken on film the other day. I found it a bit overwelming: things that happened so long ago, many of which I could only barely remember.

"Did we really go on holiday there?"

"I remember that social event, but I have no idea who half the people are."

I had to stop looking. The weight of the past was too much.

I have the same thing with digital photographs. I have bejigabytes of them. I decided to do something with them, so (naturally) I wrote some JS to turn a list of files into a photo album. But then I had to choose the decent ones and caption them. It took me (on and off) four years. Since then, I've done very little photography. The weight of the past is too much.

My phone camera gets some use. You may have heard that "the best camera is the one that you've got with you". But that feels like playing with images, not "photography".

I like taking pictures, and I like looking at pictures. I need to change my mindset. It should be a fun and lighthearted thing. No one's ever going to take much interest in what I've done, and all that album making was 99% for my benefit (the other 1% being family members). Like every blogging platform I've ever used, I need to understand that I'm shouting into the void, plus a little to myself (because I like reading my old posts), plus 1% anyone else who stops by.

Yes, that's about right. I think I just made a new year resolution to live my life for myself. Sounds egotisitcal, doesn't it!?

#photography

#photos

back to gemlog

P.S. I've put up a few old pictures on here