Honestly photographs freak me out, not just ones of me, but ones of others too, I often don't recognise myself or others in photographs and I'm not really into photo's of things either. I know most people are ok with them and make photography a hobby, but even the idea of taking a photograph let alone having one taken of me puts me in a state of near panic and I don't know why? I don't really understand what people get out of photographs.
I can't remember a number. It had light sun and dark sun settings for exposure, which was better than those with no settings. Yes I remember the disappointment of blurred or no imagine, especially if I had waited a long while to see it after I reached the end of the cartridge.
I had an instamatic camera too, was your's a 1-10? I remember the films being very small and in a cartridge for easy loading. I remember the disapointment of getting a set of pictures back and many of them not being developed because they were poor quality and there was nothing on the film other than a blur and a smudge. My dad did have one good one, a picture of my kitten who jumped when he heard the shutter closing, we got a slightly blurred photo that made it look like his eyes were on springs. My Dad had one of those box cameras too.
Thank you for that reminder of the past. All my early photos were black and white. Then when colour came in I believe the films were more expensive. My first camera was an old family one like a box. You looked in the top to see the view you were taking in front. I think my first picture was of two sheep in a field and the field was a bit wonky.
I also remember the disappointment when we went for a trip to London with my new instamatic camera and took pictures of the giant panda, but as I walked away I knocked the camera and the door opened. I closed it quickly, but the exposure meant when I got them developed there were no pictures of the giant panda.
I remember the days of getting to the end of a film and you couldn't remember what else was on there because they were taken the previous year. I also thought carefully about how many pictures I took because it was expensive to have them developed. It did feel exciting however when you went back the following week and picked up a packet of photos to see what was there.
I'm old enough to remember the days before colour photographs in newspapers and phot's we smaller and less invasive, they relied on good descriptive writing and I think this is something thats becoming lost. Although I do agree that some media photo's are iconic.
Some art photo's I've seen are good and I have less of a problem with those although I still prefer paintings. There are some animal and nature photo's I like.
I relate less to historical photographs, maybe because the periods of history I'm interested in the most are ones from long before photography.
I find photographs in advertising difficult, but I think that less about the fact that somethings been photographed and more about the way it's been photographed, often there's just a thing, on it's own with no context, no way of guessing its real size or shape or colour. I think partly its bad websire design and partly poor photography and resolution in printing or putting it on screen. I used to prefer the old fashioned catalogues where you'd have mock up rooms so you could actually get some idea of how big something is and how it fitted with other things, these days you'd hard know if a chair or a bed was for a dolls house or a massive mansion.
I really dislike personal photographs, I've sat through to many evenings of someone elses holiday or wedding photo's to ever want to see any again. I dislike photo's so much I refused to have any taken of my wedding. I feel like unless somethings been photographed and put on public display on websites and social media any experience is invalidated and open to question. I do have an issue with not being believed and being asked for a photograph of something I've done or seen opens up old wounds. I'm also old enough to have not grown up in a digital world and photos had to be taken to a shop or sent off and you'd have to wait a week to get them back and you'd have to wait until you'd finished a roll of film. So this idea of instant sharing of images still feels quite strange to me, it honestly never occurs to me to want a camera, or to take photographs, like I say they very often really freak me out to the point of near panic.
I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few days, so thank you for the question.
I've also been enjoying reading responses.
I think there are different areas of photography with different reasons for taking the images.
We'd be lost for example without stock photos on books, in newspapers, magazines, goods to purchase etc.
Also, they are used everywhere in advertising.
Nature photography can be quite amazing and can capture details the naked eye might not see.
As these animals, insects etc become extinct, at least we will be able to see what once was.
Then these images are shared with the world so we see so much more than we once did.
With media photography, where would we be without the testament of photos eg. Tiananmen Square in 1989 - student and tanks.
Art photography can simply be appreciated for just that - an art form of much beauty.
Personal photos are a record of our history.
I used to work in a psychiatric hospital and on the walls were photos of the people who were resident there in the Victorian era - working on the farm etc.
I could have stared at those photos for a lot longer than I had time to - they transported me back to a long lost time and told me something of their story.
I have always avoided having my photograph taken if possible. I have a few photographs of people, mostly those that have been sent to me following special occasions.
I prefer to photograph animals, places and things. I have loads of photographs of my dog but I take shots mainly of archaeological material culture such as ancient figurines. It helps me to compare and contrast similar items from around the world and to investigate how the items may have been used. I like establishing patterns in the material culture record.
No, I've some that have freaked me out as I'm guessing the person in them is me, but I don't recognise myself. There was one of me when I was about 13-14 and I totally didn't recognise myself, I had to ask my Mum who the girl in the photo was? It looked far more like a uni friend than it did me, which was an impossibility.
I guess I'm the weirdo then as I seem to be the only photophobe
Photos have memories of my childhood and good times. They also have memories of others and events. Looking back on them can be helpful in jogging my memory sometimes and painting a picture of something. Also, I have had photographic projects where I catalogue things and like my brain liked to do that. I don’t like having personal photos out, but I do have albums. I don’t like too many personal photos being sent to me. I don’t like snap chat to when people send me their photos with it, distorted things. I don’t really like having my photo taken by others, but I can be captured sometimes and having the photo was helpful.
I always make time to enjoy where I am, and this pertains to making videos to.
Has never a photo from your past helped to jog your memory?
I love a bluebell photo. That is still one of the things I don't feel I have ever properly captured in a photo.
When I was single I had an SLR and enjoyed experimenting and looking in nature for good angles etc. Now I have less time I might take the odd quick one on my phone in nature. The best I did on that was in our local woods when the bluebells were out and trees created a natural arch to take the picture through.
I totally agree with you Roy, but then another reason people might watch on a screen is because all the tall people with big hats seem to get to the front and totally block the view of shorter people.
I absolutely love taking photos. Really dislike being in them apart from in certain circumstances.
I love capturing a moment. I like to look back at them. I also like the challenge of improving my photography and making them look good.
If it's a photo with my niece and nephew for example, I will be in it. But most of the time I dislike having my photo taken. It feels awkward waiting for it to be taken and rarely like how it comes out. I much prefer to be the photographer.
A good shot will make your others senses tingle. Clever shots that show you things you might not notice in life, like the individual barbs on the feathers on a little bird that are too quick to see up close, or the pollen on the legs of a bumble bee. The dragonfly in flight when they hover for a second, the shapes the water makes splashing around an osprey as it makes a catch.
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I love the art of photography.
A beautiful shot I can gaze at for hours and it inspires me to want to paint or draw. It could be the textures, the colours, the motion, the way your eye just wants to explore everything. It just gives me so much joy and wonder. A good shot will make your others senses tingle. Clever shots that show you things you might not notice in life, like the individual barbs on the feathers on a little bird that are too quick to see up close, or the pollen on the legs of a bumble bee. The dragonfly in flight when they hover for a second, the shapes the water makes splashing around an osprey as it makes a catch. Sometimes I see things on my phone and I take a screen shot so I can keep looking at it.
I have an old DSLR, I love getting to capture these kind of shots myself, as by doing you are learning, discarding the bad, ranking the best so you can see what works for you most. I'd like to do it again when I have the time.
I do also take photos of my kids, but I prefer a quick shot that tells a story of what they are doing, their interests in that moment, more than a posed 'smile at the camera' shot. It's when no one is looking at the camera that's more interesting, as that will tell you a story when you look back at it. My daughter's not that keen on being in them, I do ask permission from them now they are older. But we take photos for reasons now, like to show off something they've made and proud of, or a capture a moment of a good time -but importantly I then put the camera away as one or two pictures is enough. The memories should be about what we were doing, not a memory of a camera.
Sometimes I think pictures are for those that come after. Maybe down the line, people trying to trace their ancestors. You can see features and family resemblances then, which can be surprising.
But I think people who walk around looking at a smart phone screen all the time miss real life. A good photo can remind you of a moment, but not if the only thing you remember is taking photos (this is different from special trips out with a good camera, I mean the people that walk around the Louvre filming but not looking). It's funny when you go places like museums these days, and everyone has their back to the artwork/place/person so they can get a selfie of themselves not looking at the artwork/place/person. Special sort of irony there.
I love photos of important to me things. That might be my children, my pets and places I have loved. To be able to look back at pets from my childhood is a great source of comfort to me.
I get your thing about taking pictures of things instead of looking at them. It amazes me when people go to see something or something passing by and they have phones in the air. I have also found that things like sunsets don't look as impressive on a photo. Yes if I am observing wildlife I would rather see it than a picture.
Another thing I find interesting on photos is relatives from the past showing how things were then. Sadly it seems that the younger generation are not interested though.
It's alright Roy, it just amused me the thought of a smart phone that could fix classic cars.
Maybe that's the difference, I'm quite happy to be forgotten, in fact in most instances I'd rather be forgotten.
It does seem to me though that people are experiencing life through a lens, people take so many photos do they ever actually stop to look at what they're seeing with their own eyes?
It is also coming to feel as though unless something is photographically documented and shared that it's not true or real. For instance when I saw a sparrowhawk in my garden in was there for such a short time, seconds, that unless I'd been pointing a camera at it there and then I would have missed it.
