When talking about photography, we always
reflect the photos as a result of the process. But we might forget one detail –
the photographer. How does the existence of an observer affect the space, which
requires invisibility?
Imagine you
could take pictures with your eyes. One glimpse would be a snapshot. Your
vision would contain an internal camera which you could use in moments filled with
intimacy, unawareness or sensation. Think: what would be your motives? What
would be the moments in which you would love to take a picture which allows the
immortality of a second? Would it be the first kiss with your partner, the
birth of your child or just random tiny second at the bus station in which the
sun enters your day? These could be some moments, we want to remember, but our
camera is at home, ready for the next vacation. Our daily life mostly is nothing we would
declare special enough to take pictures of.
Yet, we
have an internal camera to take pictures - our memory. When talking about important
moments, we always have an image of the situation, which occurs when we think
about it. But our
memory is an instrument, which works with blurred filters and
recreates the photos we might see from different perspectives, once we allow
emotion to enter our consciousness.
Since
smartphones became a part of our world, photography has transformed to a visual diary
for everyone’s daily life. The food of our lunchbreak might appear on
Instagram, while we snapchat our party dress to our best friend. Yes,
smartphones create a possibility to save our daily life. But I additionally
observed another tendency popping up: the fear of being photographed. In my childhood,
when photography was correlated to thinking and getting a film developed, no
one cared about cameras in the space. Today, once someone raises his
smartphone, people fear being snapped and posted online. How does this affect
our relation to photography? And how do photographers have to interact with
this awareness?
photography is more
than a 2D-medium. It is a multidimensional process, physically and emotionally.It
is the result of an interaction, which aims to be unseen.
Photography
itself is a movement. It requires empathy for the space. Once you move faster
than the space you want to observe, the space will dedicate its attention to
you. Once you slow down in a fast environment, the reaction will be a change in
the system caused by yourself. This shows us, that a photographer, not being
able to act invisible, always influences the space he wants to catch in his
very natural sense. The first step of taking pictures therefore requires the
attitude to adapt the given space, to coordinate your breathing to the present
moment and become a part of it. The process of identification and integration shapes
the possibility of an understanding and opens the door to picture something targeting
reality.
Picturing
environments made me realize that photography is a process which teaches us
abilities such as listening, compassion and silence. But this also works the
other way around: once you enter the space as a photographer, you will realize
how your attention shifts towards the quotidian. People at tram station enter your perception while you follow the movement of a worker at the bakery. This experience invites us to focus on tiny aspects and enjoy the complexity our environment provides. A
camera can be an add on towards mindfulness for the space.
