I’d like to make a modest proposal.
When you travel on vacation, don’t take photos.
I’m not saying to leave your camera at home. I’m just suggesting you give the camera a rest. Maybe declare one day a “photo free day.” Or, an afternoon. Or, for those who are particularly photo-obsessed, just go an hour or two without taking photos.
A photo day in the Silvretta region of the Austrian Alps. Shadows from the Gemspitz frame skier Mark Weeks as he tours to the summit. (GORDON KING)
On a recent vacation, while waiting for a train, I saw a mother and her young son sitting in the sun as they too, waited for the train. Rather than simply enjoying the playful interaction between mother and child my first thought was “this would make a great photograph. It could be a great standalone image for the paper.”
That’s when I knew it was time to give my camera a rest. So I declared the rest of the day a “photo-free day” and left the picture-taking to my travel companions. It was a bit strange to not photograph the people and places I saw that day but it was also liberating, not having a camera in my hand or on my shoulder. I recorded the scenes in my memory rather than on a Lexar 32 gb compact flash card.
I think we, as photographers, sometimes need to see the world through our eyes rather than the viewfinder of a camera. And to enjoy that different perspective.
–Gordon King
All too
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