Photographs

I really enjoy taking photographs. I enjoy the challenge of macro especially; getting as close to my subject as possible while attempting to reduce my shakiness so that the image comes out clear. I have a very basic method of checking this. Take a photo and immediately zoom as far as the camera software allows to ensure the image is crisp. If not, try to take another before the insect, bird or mammal makes its get away!

The Bank Vole is an example of my good luck.

However, there a some moments that need to be savoured through being in the fullness of the experience, letting go and allowing the only photograph be the one you hold inside as a woderful memory. I thought this a year or so ago when my lovely girlfriend and I went to the Bristol Balloon Festival. Lucy spent a lot of time taking photographs of the balloons lighting up to the music, but after around 20 minutes I really wanted her to sit back and enjoy the show with me. Which, luckily, she did. However she did, as we all would, lapse a couple of times to get a few extra shots.

I've been lucky enough, that without any experience and without purposely trying, to get some photographs of small mammals and birds this past year. Each time, I've tried to make myself stop taking photos after I know I've got one that's good enough for the blog. Then I've stood there and enjoyed the moment, realising how lucky I am to have this moment.

I think it makes sense to take fewer photos when possible for a few reasons:
1) You get to spend more time with the people / nature you're with. Experiencing the moment rather than hiding behind a camera. This especially makes sense, as I frequently find, when I can't get a good photo (on macro) because I'm too shaky or the light level is too low!
2) You save time and energy because you have fewer photos to go back through. I know some people that rarely go back through their photos because they don't have the time. These photos are then rarely, if ever, looked at again. If they're not important enough to look at, then perhaps they weren't important enough to take?
3) You'll never get this moment back again. Sometimes it's just better to leave the camera and enjoy it. While I know it's nice to take photographs of the sunset, most sunset photos look so similar that I wonder what the point is. Maybe it's better to take the hand of the person you're with, or make connection in some other way, and enjoy the solitude together. Or if you're on your own, just enjoy the moment; realising that this moment is the richness in your life.
4) It cuts down on the 'invisible' digital hoard that we're all generating with our endless photos, documents, etc.

I'm as much a culprit as anyone else. If anything, this post was a reminder to myself that I need to be more mindful of moments. But if it helped anyone else, then that's great.

Take care, Tim