The other day on the bus from Inverness to Ullapool, Scotland, I sat next to a guy who took a 15-minute video of the glens and mountains passing outside the window. That wouldn’t have been so unusual, except that he then proceeded to hunch over his smart phone and re-watch the entire 15 minutes of video. All the while, he was completely oblivious to the actual scenery that was flying past us right outside the bus.
“What is this world coming to?” I thought. Can it be that travel photography has completely removed us from the actual experience of traveling?
In today’s world, technology is increasingly present in our lives. Of course, photography has been around for a long time. However, the type of cameras we use, the way we take photos, and our level of accessibility to photo equipment has changed dramatically. In the old days of photography, rolls of film meant that we had to think more carefully about the number and quality of the photos we took.
With digital photography nowadays, however, it doesn’t matter how many photos are taken because they can all be deleted later if necessary. The sky (or rather, the size of the memory card) is the limit! This causes us to take dozens of often mediocre photos of every possible thing around us: the street, the bus, the trees, a friend, our shoes, our friend’s shoes….and so on.
A photographer viewing Edinburgh, Scotland through a camera lens
In addition, cameras have become cheap and popular with the masses. It’s now become unthinkable to travel anywhere without having some sort of electronic device to record each and every moment. Whether we use cellphones, point-and-shoots, iPads, or DSLRs, we are obsessed with taking travel photos.
On my recent trip to Iceland I became very aware of this fact. Indeed, I started to realize that travel photography can have its downsides. I joined up with a group of people who were making a 7-day car trip around the Ring Road. Armed each with a digital camera, they were determined to “see” and record every bit of the island with the limited time they had. Consequently, they stopped off about every ten minutes to hurriedly take a set of photos, then jump back into the car and hit the road again. Sometimes, they didn’t even stop the car; they just held their cameras out the window and snapped away.
Roadside photography along Iceland's Ring Road
So what makes people behave this way? Well, we take travel photos for a number of different reasons. First of all, we take photos in order to keep some cherished mementos of our trip, and to remind us of all our wonderful memories. Secondly, we take travel photos because it’s just hard to resist. When we travel, we are exposed to many things that are new to us. And when we witness something new and fascinating, we get so excited that we turn to our cameras to capture every moment of it. Finally, and sadly enough, we take photos to prove something to our friends and family. Why else do we take photos of ourselves standing in front of famous monuments? Because we like to say, “Hey, I’ve actually been there!”
But my question is this: Have we actually BEEN there? Being present in body is one thing. However, being present in mind and spirit is quite another thing entirely. My conclusion is that it’s not really possible to properly see or experience a place if one is constantly stuck behind a camera lens.
Constantly taking pictures can ruin the travel experience!
This is not a rant about what I think other people are doing wrong. I myself am quite often guilty of constantly taking photos. Lately, I’ve been thinking about my whole travel philosophy and weighing the upsides and downsides of travel photography. I’ve come to the conclusion that taking travel photos is a positive creative outlet, but that it can quickly become something negative.
Photography is undoubtedly a form of artistic expression and a way to capture memories. However, everything should be used in moderation, and this is no exception. Taking too many travel photos can actually make you blind to what’s happening right in front of you. It can keep you from letting yourself be immersed in the whole travel experience.
Thus, I have come up with a list of things that I have resolved to work on improving when it comes to my travel photography.
I resolve to:
- Not become anxious and/or stressed if there has been a missed photo opportunity.
- Stop constantly analyzing every street and landscape for the best angle from which to take a photo.
- Take time to just be in the moment and appreciate the sights, sounds, and smells of the place I’m in.
- Avoid taking photos of places if I haven’t spent at least one hour there.
- Compose purposefully and not just take photos of every single thing because I can.
- Take photos of people and places with a story and memories behind them. Those are the travel photos that I will actually cherish the most.
Do you constantly take photos when you travel? What do you think are some downsides to excessive travel photography?
October 11, 2012 at 6:07 am
There’s a lot of truth in what you’ve written here. The same idea has been brooding in my head for a long time. My wife noticed she always forgot to take photos, whilst I take probably too many. She regrets her lack but sometimes I have to check myself because I feel I’ve removed myself from the location and end up having to re-live it via a screen… Edging towards a middle way I’m adopting almost the same 6 points you lay out. Though I reckon I’ll skip number 4! Nice article.
October 11, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Guilty as charged. Maybe not so much as your Icelandic travel mates, but I do take a lot of photos.
Because it has no cost that tallies up on a cash register, I think that modern photography (whether you’re away from home or not) has become a very addictive behavior — I can share my photos with all my “friends” almost instantly and they have to “Hey, look at me!” And then, I get that little rush that comes with being noticed. Very addictive.
But, as you say, photography is also a wonderful thing. I like to have photos that illustrate my story — but I still need to have a story worth telling, not just a list of stops made. Contrary to what Chris said above, I think #4 might just be the most important point you make!
October 12, 2012 at 1:36 am
It’s not that #4 is a bad idea, i just think it’s not practical. The best thing about travel is the spontaneity of the experiences. So many things happen when you’re ‘just passing through’ that i can imagine regretting a lot of missed photographs by sticking to a dogma like that one. Visiting a place for an hour is barely any worse than only staying a day – you will still fail to understand the place properly. The other points are about being mindful of why and what you’re snapping, if you practice sticking to them you shouldn’t need #4. Besides, you can’t be ‘in the moment’ (#3) and still be thinking to yourself that you haven’t been there long enough.
October 11, 2012 at 10:23 pm
How about this resolution: Don’t take any photos until after you’ve looked at whatever you came to see?
I find that either I take photos of things I don’t really see or I forget to take photos of things I see.
October 11, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Very insightful. I never thought of it that way before. Makes me have second thoughts about what types of pictures I may take next time I travel. Glad to see you are enjoying yourself.
October 12, 2012 at 9:51 am
Voice of respectful dissent, here: I LOVE to take pictures when I travel! And if I enjoy it, who should deny me the pleasure? I have a pocket-sized point-&-shoot camera, nothing fancy, nothing that a pro would even bother to sneer at. I take tons of pix & throw most of them away — no worries, no time spent framing perfect shots (well, maybe a little bit of time, but only when I feel like it). Some of the shots are snapped through the car window, some when I jump out at the side of the road or step out onto the back deck for a few minutes only. I do see, smell, feel & relate to the places I go, talk to the people, learn as much as I can about the history/geology/art. And I do take pictures, and if it gives me pleasure, why kvetch?
October 12, 2012 at 11:02 am
Thanks everyone for your input!
The resolutions I came up with are a working model, and I didn’t mean to suggest that I’m going to follow them religiously. I meant them simply as a set of guidelines that I will be working towards. In regards to resolution #4, I’m not going to obsess over whether I’ve been in a place for more than 1 hour & whether I’m allowed to take a photo or not. However, what I do want to do is work towards not taking a bunch of random photos of places that don’t really mean anything to me. Of course, an hour, or even a day or a week, isn’t enough time to get to know a place really well. But an hour or so does give me a bit more time to actually appreciate being in a place before starting to take photos of it.
I think Peggy expresses more the point I was trying to make. I want to work towards seeing and enjoying the place I’m in first before taking any photos.
I respect your viewpoint, Thea, and I think if you enjoy taking lots of travel photos, nothing should stop you from doing that. I am not trying to go off on anyone here – The point I’m trying to make is that travel photography has become so common that many people don’t stop to think about it any more. I think it’s something that should be considered more carefully.
October 12, 2012 at 11:38 am
I think photo taking really changed with the invention of digital. Before digital you had to carry around film and had to be more picky about what you were shooting. It also cost a lot of money to develop all that film. Digital allows you to take unlimited pictures at almost no cost.
I am sometimes guilty of taking too many pictures but I do try to put the camera down and experience where I am.
October 16, 2012 at 4:46 am
Digital photography can be a blessing and a curse. Like you said, it allows unlimited pictures at almost no cost which is great; if you make mistakes, you can easily erase them.
However, it also emphasizes quantity over quality which I think is quite negative.
October 12, 2012 at 8:36 pm
I take A LOT of pictures on my trips- I inevitably get people who question my ability to enjoy the trip if I’m ‘constatly’ taking pictures. My answer is always the same- People find joy in different things. I love taking photos of places and experiences, not only because it helps me to ‘frame’ the event or place, but also because I get to take that ‘frame’ with me forever and use it slip back into that moment
October 16, 2012 at 4:42 am
I definitely appreciate having photos to look back on after I’ve finished a trip. Recently I heard about a photography business whose slogan is “Minds forget, but photographs don’t.” I thought that was very appropriate.
I think it would be a shame to not take ANY photos while traveling. I especially love taking photos of the people I’ve met and made friends with on my travels. That way I will be able to remember their faces for a long time to come.
It’s just hard sometimes not to lose sight of the actual reason of traveling – to experience new places and cultures. The challenge is to keep a balance between capturing the moment but not letting yourself get overly obsessed with it to the point that you can’t just get lost in the moment.
October 14, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Agh so true and like an addict I am fighting. Its liberating sometimes when you find the battery dead or memory card full. But I also have found some of my favorite pictures are the ones I didn’t even care if I took. Though I am seriously guilty of all 3 reasons you listed of photo taking. Loving your blog already keep up the provoking writing
October 16, 2012 at 4:33 am
Thanks Dustin! Keep up the good work with your blog as well – I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures in Africa!
October 16, 2012 at 3:37 am
I’m guilty of this especially seeing as I only got my DSLR in the last couple of months I find myself sometimes getting carried away and spending more time behind the camera than I do living in the moment. I think those are great resolutions. I agree especially with number 6 Your right
October 16, 2012 at 4:32 am
Brendon, I felt the same way when I first got my DSLR at the beginning of this year. There is so much to learn, and its easy to get really carried away with taking photos. Now, when I go out on day trips, I will try to leave my camera behind around 50% of the time. I can still get some good photos, but then I also have time to just enjoy the place I’m in. It’s also nice not to have to carry around that heavy camera and tripod all the time!
October 16, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Really true. Travel photography is becoming better now that gadgets are within the reach of the masses, but that means everyone is taking a photo, especially in restaurants, and sometimes across the table from one another!
December 7, 2012 at 7:35 am
I actually wonder the same thing myself sometimes, if I am so busy taking photos that I forget to actually take in the experience. Great post!