Essay Response #3

I thought the article was a bit...random? I don't think that I'm thinking abstractly enough to fully understand the article, but it did bring up some good points. The author says that touristic photography is problematic because the tourist taking the picture does so to feel in control of a situation that they are not, otherwise, in control of. Like I said before, maybe I'm not thinking abstractly enough, but I don't agree with this. When I am taking pictures while on vacation, I'm not doing it to feel in control of a situation. I'm doing so to remember these moments, so that when I look at these pictures in 30 years, maybe there will be a picture that sparks a memory that I thought I had long forgotten.

I do agree when the author says that when you take pictures, "it gives shape to his or her experience, and significant, as Sontag notes, it conveys the appearance of participation in the situation." I think this is true. You take pictures at monuments, posed next to famous statues, and making silly faces at festivals so that you can say, "Hey, look, I was there, I saw that." You want to show people that you visited these places, you participated in things that other people didn't get to do. It is sometimes comforting to know that you've seen things and experienced things - you're more cultured or worldly after these experiences.

I also agreed with the author when they said that, "to photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them they can never have." I think this is a pretty true statement, because when you take a picture of a person without them knowing, acting completely naturally, this is something that the person themselves, will never get to experience. Even when someone looks in a mirror, or passes a reflective buidling, they automatically touch their hair, stand a little taller. And maybe it is a violation to that person to see and photograph them in a way that they can never see. I know that while out, I have caught someone trying to take a picture of me, and it made me uncomfortable. Why? "Well, I wasn't ready for it, so I wasn't standing straight, I was probably slouching..oh gosh, was I biting my nails or picking my nose? Ah, they probably got my double chin" and so on and so forth.

I also thought the author's take on the "unphotographable sight" was interesting. I can relate to the feeling of trying to photograph something, or a situation and not being able to get it the way you want it, or not being able to capture the moment the way you want to. This especially happens to me when I'm trying to take a picture of something fun or funny that is happening with a lot of people, because yes, you can photograph a person, but sometimes you can't necessarily capture an atmosphere, which is often what I want. Everyone experiences this, even when they aren't necessarily trying to capture the moment with a photo. Everyone has listened to a story about this awesome, crazy time someone had doing whatever, and the story usually ends with.. "You just had to be there." It is hard to capture emotion and the atmosphere of a place or situation whether you're just recounting the experience, or trying to capture it with a photo.

Lastly, I also really liked the author's take on travel. Why do people feel the need to travel places and see things for themselves, when they can find tons of pictures and videos online of these exact things? Before I came on the England trip, I had seen tons of pictures of double Decker buses, people crammed in red phone booth boxes, people posing next to Shakespeare's home, the manor at sunset. Seeing these things is not the same as experiencing them, though. Every person is going to experience one thing differently. For example, when I went to Spain to study abroad, we visited the Algar Waterfalls. It was, quite possibly, one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences of my life. These waterfalls were gorgeous and climbing onto the side of a mountain and then flinging myself off of the side of this mountain into the frigid water was exhilarating and scary and amazing all at once. Doggy-paddling for my life through the actual waterfall to get behind it was terrifying, especially since I'm not a strong swimmer at all, but once I reached the back of the waterfall and finally saw how gorgeous it was, made it worth it. Chelsea and I couldn't stop talking about how beautiful the waterfalls were and what a great experience it was. I told a friend of mine about this gorgeous place, and two years later she studied abroad in Spain. When she finally got back, I asked about the waterfalls. "They were okay" was all she said. Um, what? What one person takes away from an experience, is completely different from what another will take away from it, so that's why some people aren't satisfied with just seeing pictures of different places or hearing stories about foreign countries. Some people need to experience and see and feel these things for themselves.

I take pictures when I'm on vacation for a lot reasons, but mostly just to help me remember what I saw. I also take pictures to share with other people who weren't on the trip. I always want to share my experiences with other people. I usually take pictures of places that I see, obvious things like monuments and statues, but I also take pictures of random things that I think are interesting, like window displays of little stores or tea houses. I take pictures of dogs sometimes, and I also take random pictures of people and things that I find beautiful, whether it be landscapes or alleyways. I also like to take pictures of myself and the people I'm with having a good time, experiencing things. The pictures I take while on vacation are different from the pictures I take while I'm at school or at home, especially considering the sheer amount of photos I take. While on vacation I take tons and tons of pictures, but while at school or home, the amount of pictures I take is significantly less. I'm still taking pictures of myself and friends and family having fun and experiencing things, but not as often. Maybe, because these moments don't feel as important in the moment compared to when you're on vacation, even though I think they are.
After I take pictures, I usually load them onto Snapfish to save and store them because they are organized and preserved there. I can also order prints when I want to. I post some pictures on facebook. but not all of the ones that I take. I post pictures of time spent with friends mostly on faecbook, because that is usually who I am communicating with on facebook. I don't usually post pictures of my family or random pictures of alleyways or dogs because there are photos that I take for myself and fully appreciate.