WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS ON VACATION WITH A MOBILE PHONE CAMERA OR WITH A CAMERA?

 

MRT train ride from Kajang to Menara TRX Kuala Lumpur recently.

For many people, the main reason is to have a self-made souvenir of their trip, which will help them remember their vacation. In many cases, they could accomplish that goal more effectively by buying a few postcards with pictures taken by professional photographers.

Nowadays, all mobile phones are fitted with a in-built camera and photos could easily be taken and saved in the phone's photo gallery or sent to relatives or friends instantly by whatsapp or telegram or other means of social medias.

As for me, I like taking photos in general. I find that if I walk around with my mobile phone or  camera with the intent of taking pictures (whether in my home town or on vacation), I look more carefully and more intently at my surroundings. That helps cement the memories more firmly, whether I take the pictures or not. I also tend to look for photo opportunities that aren't the usual post card shots.

I have been doing this long enough to realize that there are certain kinds of scenes that I am drawn to. One category are “portals” — doors, windows, arches, openings of all types that let you see through to some other place. In the main entry to my home, near the door, I have a collage of such photos.

Another category is “decay”. That includes both natural processes and man-made artifacts. For example, fungi growing on downed trees. Flowers half-eaten by insects. (Bonus if you can include an insect in the photo.) Abandoned buildings. One of my favorite decay photos was taken behind a post office in West University Place, Texas, where they stored heaps of old blue mailboxes that had been taken off the streets because they had been damaged. Another category is water, which includes a fisherman's rowboat on the Charles River in Prague, a sailboat in Puglia, various ships on the Bosporus, and on the Grand Canal in Venice.

I have also found that one reason I do this is because my wife and I may end up on very different schedules when we travel. I often get up early by 7AM, while she often sleeps until 9 or 10AM. That gives me a couple of hours to amuse myself, which may turn into strolling around the neighborhood with my mobile phone or camera.

Life goes on, of course, and there are still exciting things to do. But one never knows whether they can do those things again - so, for me, capturing those moments are important. For others, just remembering they were there may be enough.

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