What impresses me most about photography is the undeniable feeling that there is something magical about the process of taking a picture. Part of the fascination comes from the technology of how an image can be captured, but it also extends to the fact that with photography you do not only pay homage to a beautiful moment or a loved one, but you also have the opportunity to own this special moment or person in the form of a picture.
Photographs are closer to our emotional life than words. We can take pictures of events that show more and different things that we could ever put into words in a later narrative.
No matter how wonderful and great a moment was, the more time passes, the more the memory becomes obscured - a fog envelops what was once loved and no matter how hard you try, you are unable to preserve a special moment in detail.
Most of the times we can only remember fragments, also because we were concentrating on specific things at the time of the experience.
On your first date for example, you were probably so excited and nervous at the same time that you concentrated more on not dropping your spoon or even spilling your coffee or tea. Parts of the date that were particularly memorable or important to you are still fresh in your mind after many years, but things like the day of the date, the weather, the clothes and shoes you or your crush wore are probably only vaguely remembered.
Through photography, memories can be preserved for eternity; photographs help to reconstruct the moment, to revive forgotten episodes and probably make it possible to discover new things that were not perceived at the time, sometimes even to correct memories.
The photo of your loved one
Another advantage of photography is that the picture is available to the viewer without movement, as faces are constantly moving in reality.
It is often difficult to remember the face of a friend from the past; photography helps to bring back the memory to some extent. Maybe you know it from yourself: it is often easier to remember a photograph than a person, because it is easier to think of a still image than to put together the pieces of a person's moving facial expressions into a representative image. The still image is available to the viewer for a longer period of time and can also be analysed and observed more closely which turns out to be another benefit for lovers.
While it may seem impolite or even a little cringy to stare at the beautiful face of a nearly stranger for a long time, you can look at a photograph as often and as long as you wish.
The picture itself creates a fictional community - you always have your loved one with you, whether in your wallet or on your mobile phone. It creates a closeness to the person and also takes away a little bit of the lonliness. Your favourite person might feel honoured too that you take them with you wherever you go.
Many years ago, people also believed that if you had a picture of your partner with you, nothing bad could happen to them - carrying a picture in your wallet was thought to protect your loved one from harm and also bring luck to you.
Beautiful photographs become beautiful under the favour of their photographers who make them meaningful. In a book on the psychology of photography, it was mentioned that people like to take pictures of their loved ones in front of sights. The person taking the photograph is subconsciously expressing that s/he values her/his beauty above everything else. It is not said without a reason that photography is a non-verbal flirtation between the photographer and the subject.
Love for the object
Sometimes it is easier to remember objects than people - the reason behind it is that we have many feelings about people which can change in quick succession. We often experience photos of an ex-partner as very painful, but when it comes to things, there is - at best - a constant, undisappointed feeling of admiration and wonder. That's why it's worth taking photos of old football shoes, your favourite teddy bear or your first car too - these memories often have stronger positive associations than people in a long run.
Love for photography
Today I saw a video on Instagram of an old woman, I think she's in her late 80s if not older, standing on a pedestrian walkway with her bags on the ground, her hands holding a dslr camera and she's very focused on taking a picture of a subject that can't be seen in the video. It looks like the camera is very heavy for her, but her passion keeps her going. It made me smile because I can feel it and it's somehow proof that you never stop loving photography.
I hope that I will be the same and that photography will continue to amaze me and bring me joy even when I am old. I hope that there are still many beautiful things, nature and even more amazing people to be photographed.
I wish you a happy Valentine's Day and I hope you have someone in your life who is more beautiful than the Eiffel Tower or more impressive than the pyramids in Egypt ;-) Someone or something that you love so much that you want to take hundreds of pictures and keep them forever.
