Photos

I recently [2 years] started to value photography; I have a camera and I occasionally take pictures of supposedly significant events. I like taking pictures of scenery rather than people and I try to take pictures that will remind me of a certain event or place when I see it. I have developed a love for panoramic pictures ever since my graduation project and I have been adamant on taking panoramic pictures during my travels; I find them to be encompassing and thrilling as if you're standing right there watching. Whenever I see those panoramic pictures, I instantly return to the sensation of when they were taken; whether it was a state of elated joy, or a feeling of disbelief, a hint of disappointment or an unannounced melancholy. I love my panoramic pictures and they bring about a sense of pride that I don't experience elsewhere; in fact I am so proud of them that I usually show them to others, which is something completely out of character for me.

Anyhow, I just think that even though photos have been so easily captured, they should have meaning and purpose. People nowadays take pictures of anything and everywhere; any single outing, any coffee trip is quickly turned to a photo shoot; with each person trying to strike a pose and smile for the camera. I don't mean to sound condescending, but I feel that we've lost any kind of values, our society has become a cluster of fake feelings, thoughts and actions. We rush to make people believe that we're the happiest, prettiest and most blessed. We share because we want to show off and not to actually let people in on our joy. Every event has become a display of worth, rather than a joyous occasion.

I just want our values back; times when taking a picture meant an event, when a family gathering was the sort of occasion that required photos, when a trip to the beach meant that a couple of meaning portraits are to be captured. Our accounts and desktops are filled with smiling photos and albums of pictures, but where is the real happiness? Where is the real values? We hide behind our fake smiles incapable of facing our own personal truths, our own characters, the honesty of our existence, because if we did, we wouldn't be very receptive of it.


Jabal el qal3a, Amman, Jordan

Comments

Popular Posts