Something weird happened to me last month.
I’ve been a photographer for most of my life. Professionally. Getting paid to photograph news, weddings, portraits, and other events.
But, so far, no one has paid me to take vacation photos.
I did that gratis for my wife and daughter. Some scenes just beg to be photographed. That’s the artistic side of vacation photos. But, there’s another side. Proving that you were THERE.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll always take photos. If I have a camera (and with cell phones, who doesn’t have a camera?), I’ll always be looking for the scene, the artistry, that which yearns to be photographed. But, maybe, I’m learning to not photograph everything, just because it’s in front of me.
I remember not seeing much of Disney World and the other assorted theme parks the first time we took our daughter at age three. I was looking through the B&W viewfinder of a shiny new video (tape-not digital) camera. We’ve got a marvelous video of our vacation that year, that we haven’t watched in decades. And probably won’t again since it’s on a format of tape we don’t have a player for anymore. My memory of that vacation is all black and white, and I remember the viewfinder I looked through. The next year we went back, and I spent less time with the camera in front of my face, and more time watching my daughter.
We’ve gone on seven cruises in the past decade. Each one, I’d prowl the ship, snapping away, documenting what the ship looked like, every room we saw or sat in, the decor, the bits, and pieces that made that ship unique. I’d get up early looking for the great sunrises or head out after dinner to get a great ocean sunset, I’d even photograph our meals.
I was like the folks I saw out in Santa Monica last month.
Well, I didn’t have the selfie sticks. Those were everywhere. Attach a phone, and hold the stick before you. I never knew if they were actually recording everywhere they walked? And, if they were, was it the front view of where they were going? or where they had been?
I spent about a month total out in California last year. Wife was there for a temporary assignment for her job, and I went out to hang out with her and decompress. We were near Santa Monica, so I spent a lot of time relaxing on the pier, or in the nearby Palisades Park. Yes, I took some photos. But I watched as well. I watched the tourists, the homeless, and the California natives.
The difference between the tourists and the “natives” was stark. The natives interact with their surroundings. They walk, run, stroll through their surroundings. Tourists look, gawk and photograph. Usually, they take selfies. Lots of selfies.
They turn their back to the splendor of the view, raise aloft their selfie sticks, smile, and click the button. Those without the annoying, thin, telescoping rods that have their cell phones attached to the end, constantly held out in front as they navigate the crowded pier or 3rd Street Promenade – they hand their cameras off to a passerby or take turns with fellow travelers. Each passing their own camera to another for their own tourist photo in front of the sights.
While sitting on a bench on the pier, dividing my time between watching the waves break and roll onto the beach nearby, and watching tourists with their selfie-sticks, I got asked to take a photo for a couple with their child. They wanted to show that they had been THERE. On the Pier, with the Pacific Ocean behind them. No problem. I’m a professional. I can even shoot with a cell phone camera.
Wife and I do this – get a photograph us being THERE, occasionally, too. I understand the need to document the fact that we were THERE! wherever there was – we WERE THERE too! See. We’ve got a photo to prove it.
Since the advent of the camera, this has been a thing. Prove that you were THERE. It’s my vacation. See… I was THERE.
But, then, on this last cruise – the one we took at the end of the second stay in California, I didn’t do much photography. Yes, I did some. But I didn’t do my usual amount. In fact, I scaled way back. It wasn’t a conscious effort on my part. It just happened (or didn’t happen, depending on how one looks at the phenomena).
Perhaps, I spent less time with a camera up to my face because it was on the same ship we had sailed twice before. Perhaps because we had been to these same ports before.
Or, perhaps, I’ve started trying to relax and enjoy my vacations. Instead of proving that I was THERE, I decided to actually see what there was? Perhaps, I decided that relaxing wasn’t included in doing what I normally do as “work.” I’ve carried a camera every day for well over a decade in the news photography industry. I’ve spent full weekends being in “creative photo mode” with wedding photography.
Perhaps now, I’m learning to let go of taking photos of where I am, and finally enjoying just being there, seeing the sights, experiencing the thrills and the joy of seeing, living, experiencing life.
I don’t have to record it all on (digital) film to remember it. The internet and its cornucopia of information mean I’ll never have to worry about not finding a photo of where I’ve been again. Millions of other vacation photogs are snapping away pics of every THERE I’m likely to go see.
Now, perhaps, I’ve realized that life is more than just a series of photos. Life is listening to a street performer on Christmas day, and dropping a tip in his jar… It’s the glass of wine shared with new friends on the outdoor cafe deck of the 
ship… it’s seeing the flip of the tails and the mist of the blowholes of the whales swimming near the ship. Life is seeing your child’s face light up when she sees THE MOUSE in charge of the theme park, in person, and gets a giant hug from the giant mouse.
Life is all of those things, and more. Maybe I’ve finally hit the point where I can separate myself from documenting every little bit of it, and start enjoying more of it. I’m there to create memories, not just to record them. It’s my life, our lives. I want to experience, not record. Memories, not just photographs.
Oh, and, in case you didn’t notice – I’m having fun sitting and watching, and photographing tourists taking selfies. It’s my version of street photography
Don’t worry, though. I’ll still take a few selfies. Just not with one of those annoying selfie-sticks. I’m a professional photographer, after all.
Great thoughts & experience from a Professional!