i live in a photo book
Have you ever taken a candid of someone you love laughing, and captured the crinkles in their face as they let out the natural human reaction to something that humors them? Or taken a video of a cute, fluffy dog nuzzling up against your hand to say hello? Or maybe a photo of a stunning sunset, capturing the pinks and purples and yellows and oranges and blues just before the sun leaves us for another night? It’s all so beautiful, and being able to have these moments in your camera roll is like having a little memory book in your back pocket.
I find myself taking pictures all the time. For one, taking pictures of my friends brings me so much joy. Whether they’re slicing open their avocado that they have been craving since 8:04am or cramming for their next physics quiz in DCL or riding bikes under the bright blue sky, I see these all as fleeting moments that will only last for so long. Our seconds turn into minutes, to hours, days, months, years, and before we know it, our time together will inevitably come to an end (it’s senior year! Our time is almost up). Every little laugh and sigh we share will become merely a memory, so I try to capture as much as I can. One day, we’ll look back at these funny little pictures and videos and remember how we felt when we were in high school, and maybe even show our kids what we were like.
I used to use Instagram as my outlet for creative pictures, but recently I deleted my Instagram app after realizing how toxic it could be. I didn’t want to equate my own pictures to the number of likes or comments they got, so I went to another outlet - VSCO. Many people use this app for only editing their pictures, as they offer a nice variety of filters and editing tools that are user-friendly. However, it is also a platform similar to Instagram, but without the toxicity: you can’t see the number of likes a picture has, how many followers someone has, and you can’t comment on pictures. This allows for appreciation of each photo for what it really encapsulates, not the attention that it gets.
I guess I’m sharing this because I’m happy that I’ve found somewhere to keep my little memory book that doesn’t allow other people’s opinions (or lack thereof) to affect how I think about my photo of my mom laughing at the dinner table or my friend’s dog licking my face. Life really is way too short to 1) not capture the moments that bring you joy or to 2) care about how many likes your picture gets on social media. I’ve learned to appreciate the pictures I take for the reason I took them in the first place: to remember them even after the moment passes.
I love the way you write! Your descriptions in the first paragraph of different pictures remind me of so many precious moments that we've all probably captured in our lives, or wanted to capture. They're the kind of moments that you want to remember forever. I also like when you said that these photos are things we can share with our children potentially. I think about that a lot because it's so cool how documented our lives are now in videos and pictures. I don't have that many pictures of my mom and dad, mostly just school photos, so it's really kind of amazing that our generation's kids will have that for us.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful way to describe your relationship with photos. I also greatly cherish all the pictures in my camera roll. I have way too many (I know because my iCloud storage ran out, even though I already pay for extra storage), but I love the memories that are associated with each picture. My photos, for me, are like a little diary, only I don't actually have to write the things out, because the photo itself reminds me of all the feelings that I had at that time. I also struggle with Instagram. I like it in a way, because it helps me connect with people and share my own memories of things that have happened to me without my friends on Instagram having been there as well, but I totally also struggle with the notion of having a memory and specific moment of mine equate to how many likes or comments I got. In the past, I've tried to stop sharing so many pictures on Instagram, because often I feel like the pictures I took myself are more special if they're only mine. Like if I put them on Instagram, they no longer belong to me and my thoughts but to the rest of the world (even though my Instagram is private so the whole world can't see my pictures). Anyway, I really liked this post and I related to it a lot!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really sweet sentiment. I didn't like social media (especially Instagram with all the pictures) because I always thought it diminished from real life (like, there's a difference between enjoying breakfast with a friend and spending the time to set up and take a picture of you, a friend, and your aesthetic breakfast) but after reading this, especially your feelings about time running out, I think I feel less hostile to it now. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same way about the photos that I take. A lot of my friends hate it, and usually when I try to take a candid, it ends up with either my phone getting taken away, or someone flipping the bird in the picture, but yeah. Funny street signs. Weird plants/bugs. Friends. Family. Looking back on these captured memories are one of the best things to experience.
After reading this post, I understand why you take a lot of pictures. I love and respect your decision to delete Instagram. I wish I could see the importance of pictures like you do. It's beautiful honestly. A moment spent in life will never come back to you. You've figured out the power of capturing memories, and I was inspired by your self-realization that life is just too short not to capture the joys and even downs in life. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a lot of good points here. First, I definitely think that pictures and videos are the best ways to retain memories and I think it's extremely valuable to record snippets of our lives so we can look back on them later. Also, I liked that you talked about the toxicity of Instagram. It's almost impossible to not worry about how many likes/comments you get on a picture, and then associate that number with the value of the picture. I think the post should be about what it means to the person who posted it, not the number of people that liked it. I've also been thinking about taking a break from Instagram so it was encouraging to read that you're also doing the same:)
ReplyDeleteThe writing does a great job in encapsulating the dual sided nature in your feelings towards instagram. I do agree how pictures can be little snapshots of feelings all in this one small film of emotions, which I think the first paragraph did great to really describe. I can also agree with the sentiment as how ones feelings or satisfaction can become dictated by numbers on the screen. Overall great post!
ReplyDeleteI constantly take breaks from social media because I realized how much my mood would change after using it. I highly recommend to everyone to take a break from social media. It really does help you and over time after continuously taking so many breaks, you don't become so addicted or dependent on it. It's honestly the best feeling in the world when you finally don't get the urge to immediately check your insta or snap or whatever and you have the ability to control yourself. I'm super glad that you're thinking about taking a break because it's honestly one of the best decisions I've ever made.
ReplyDeleteStunning post!
ReplyDeleteI too sometimes delete my instagram or snapchat app in an attempt to reconnect, but unfortunately I can never stay strong for over a few days. You beautifully captured the feeling certain photos evoke in you, and you recognized sometimes other people just don't get it. My one disagreement is that I'm sure everyone wants to see pictures of dogs, 100% of the time.