I have finally been for a wander south to look at the new hedging and coppice. The hedging is a thing of geometric beauty: two rows of whips staggered and spaced evenly one foot apart, with bamboo stake and mouse guard for each. I wanted to take a photo to accompany this post, but had left my camera in my room.
In actual fact, I find that having a camera with me means that I look at things for their potential as a photo, and stop looking at them for themselves. I remember a trip to Paris in the 1980s, when I just managed to glimpse the Mona Lisa through continuous photo flashes and a jostling crowd, and another in the 1990s, when I spent some time sitting in the Orangerie gazing at Monet's Waterlilies. A series of Japanese tourists came in, had their photo taken with the painting and left again. Hardly any of them actually looked at it - sad. I have found that I prefer to dwell less on the photos I have taken in order to remember a holiday, than on the strong images I have retained in my mind. Photos-to-remember always set me at a remove from a place. The photos I most enjoy are those from days I have deliberately devoted to the camera, and they tend to be more of a sideways look.
As I walked across the southern edge, I disturbed flocks of linnets and redwings from their grassy hides. At that moment, I could have done with my binos, which were sat next to my camera!
Between September 2010 and September 2011, I lived alongside an Anglican Benedictine community of monks and nuns. In November 2010, we moved from Broad Marston Manor near Evesham to Mucknell Abbey, a new eco-monastery near Worcester. This blog was about things that I observed and things that interested me. I have now stopped writing it. Thank you to all who were also interested.
you are absolutely right about the camera. It isnt a neutral piece of equipment at all!
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Jerusalem in the early 1970's soon after the Yum Kipur war, I took my camera with me. I returned to London 18 months later without having taken one photograph... Sad? Or what?
ReplyDeleteI agree about leaving the camera behind. Last year I was in Ephesus and one girl saw the entire day through her camcorder.
ReplyDeleteOur laptop recently died rather spectacularly and took with it all our photos (yep, I learned about backups the hard way!). But there are very few photos I miss. The vivid images in my head are all I need!