Thursday, 10 February 2011

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

I began reading a book the other day, Girl With the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which is set in the 1600s.  So far, what has struck me the most is not a major part of the plot or characters.  When Griet is introduced to the 'camera obscura' for the first time, she is completely shocked.  Never before has she experienced such a thing.  Isn't that amazing?  Something so common to us today in our present time being so new and foreign? 

I personally love taking pictures.  I take pictures of random things I see that intrigue me... trees, fields, landscapes, my friends.  Mostly my friends.  The majority of the time I don't take random regular pictures, but I try and go for a new angle rather than straight on.  Maybe from above the subject, or below it.  We as a people often take the technologies we have for granted, I feel, in that pictures were not taken for fun in the 1600s.  Nowadays they are used most often for memory's sake, to scrapbook with, to frame, to giveaway as a gift.  All to preserve a special moment, a special time in one's life.  My camera helps me remember the faces of those I love and the memories I share with them.  The next time you see a picture, take in all of the details... every last part, not just the main focus.  It takes every part of the photo to tell a story.  Try and figure out what was happening when it was taken.  I myself am often surprised at what I come up with.

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