experience – one pair of shoes at a time

One thing that is immediately obvious when you hit any form of tourist trail is that the cameras come out. Picture of Tower Bridge, tick; picture of Sydney Opera House, tick. Where it really struck me how much people were linked permanently to cameras/phones was at the Aquarium in Melbourne.

I didn’t take a single photograph at the Aquarium. Not because it wasn’t beautiful, but because a tiny little square of a bit of a shark or a few seahorses would not begine to capture the magic of actually seeing them. Of experiencing the moment.

Of course, I have taken photographs whilst we have been in Oz. But not as many as I might have done in years past. I am reminded of going to concerts. We went to see Bruce Springsteen twice last year. It was magical. Both concerts were completely different. I do not have a single photograph nor did I record any of the songs. At times it was a miracle that I could see the stage at all through the forest of iphones that were being held up above people’s heads.

How many times will the filmer watch that iphone video? How much of the actual moment did they lose trying to get out their phone, turn it on, turn on the video etc. etc. ?

In the digital age, the one that is supposed to have released us from the tyranny of paper, we seem to be as much a victim as we were before. To cap it all, I notice that Facebook is now offering you the chance to turn your timeline into a book.

So here are a few photographs of stuff. Not of anything special, but of things that will remind me of moments now in years to come. It doesn’t matter what they are of, just enjoy the view.