Through the Viewfinder of My Camera
“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” Karl Lagerfeld.
The reason why many people take photographs is that they capture a memory so that you can remember that moment. When I look at a photograph I remember the situation I was in and what I saw through the viewfinder of my camera.
I appear not to be the only one who thinks it is important that we remember the moment and the situation we are in when a picture. The American multinational technology company Apple has incorporated this ideas of the moment in which the photograph is taken in their newest product: iPhone 6s and 6s plus. This new feature is called Live Photos. A normal or still picture captures an instant frozen in time. Now with Live photos you can turn those frozen images into unforgettable living memories.
Together with the photo taken the moments (movement and sound) before and after the photo can be shown when pressing on the picture. “But what people love even more are the memories that are preserved within those images. Those memories are now incredibly vivid with Live Photos, an entirely new way to bring your still photos to life.” These moments can be brought to life with one touch of the finger anywhere on the photo. It is even possible to set the picture as your screen saver so you can constantly be reminded by this moment when you take your iPhone 6s out of your pocket.
By taking a picture you are giving others a glimpse of something which is hard to find. Most photographs are taken to show what others have not seen and what may not be possible to be recreate. I find photographs about nature especially very eye-catching since you can never recreate the picture and the scene is constantly changing.
When I look back to the many vacations I have been on, photography has been a large part of it especially Greenland and my recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. On my vacation to Greenland I realized what an unusual, unique and extraordinary place it is. Greenland is so different from my surroundings today. This was my motivation to dedicate much of my time to photography on this vacation. Greenland is unfortunately one of those countries who is being greatly affected by global warming, therefore it is very important to cherish those memories for Greenland because in a couple of years it will have changed enormously. I felt a certain pressure to capture moments that will never be created again.
My passion for photography has been quite recent and I began to create a bigger interest when I got my camera one year ago. I have taken several photography lessons. After one week in Greenland I took 3700 pictures and after editing: 1400, and 32 favorites. To me it was incredibly important I got some amazing shots with the nature in Greenland because I know in a couple of years, or even months it will have transformed completely. Unfortunately climate change is having a big impact on Greenland. This was the main motivation to visit Greenland for my family, before it was too late.
On my recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam this Winter, I faced many challenges with my photography. The main one which is taken the picture without being too obvious. I find some of the most powerful picture are photos of people, because the face of someone can tell so much. Just from looking at a person’s face or hands you can interpret so much. These kind of shots were very difficult since I would not know how the people would react, so the safest way is to ask permission. My inspiration for these kind of pictures started from Humans of New York and a picture which I stumbled upon in New York times.
A couple of years back, before cameras were as advanced as they are now, we were taught to be picky and precise with the picture we take. This means that we could only take a couple pictures and cherish the shots we were able to take. Today we can take unlimited photos, well until the capacity/storage is full. During my vacations I did exactly that, just fired away. Yes, this means I will have to use more time of editing but I make sure I can preserve those memories forever and to do that I need to have as many pictures as possible.
A big part of photography is also picture editing. Pictures after editing are based on the truth of what was taken. The reason why we edit pictures is to make it more eye-catching. This is where many photographers rely on Photoshop. Photoshop is such a powerful software which can create anything. It fools the human mind. I think it is very important that everyone understands that pictures may lie or exaggerate and you should never fully rely 100% on a picture. Pictures are taken for personal reasons, but also as a business so this means that professional photographers need their pictures to be as eye-catching as possible.
