How many photographs do you take in a day, or a month, or a year? Today is National Camera Day. Now that so many people have phone cameras in their pockets or bags 24/7, photography has obviously soared – and this has an impact on how we experience the world around us. It might make you more attentive, more observant, as you look around for what to photograph, or look back through old photos, or get memory alerts of what you took this day last year and so on. Mindful photography is a growing phenomenon as well, encouraging people to truly look, see and notice as they photograph.
I think photography can be particularly positive because it's active, so it's a way of engaging with what we see, an opportunity to connect and respond. I know I find engaging actively and trying to be creative boosts my mood a lot more than looking and hearing and being receptive.
The other side of the coin is that photography may become so everyday that it loses its power to excite and uplift. As hundreds of phtos build up on your phone you may rarely look back at them. I also think thre was something special about print photos to hold and display. Someone I know looks back each year through the photos she has taken that year, and chooses 50 or 100 to print out in a photo book. I like that idea.
I'm not a skilful photographer. I enjoy looking around and thinking how I might photograph from unusual angles, silhouetting a plant against the sky or photographing from a low viewpoint. But the shot usually turns out underwhelming. That luscious cherry or delicate poppy flower just looks insignificant on screen! But when I suggested macrophotography of plants as one of the daily ideas to participants in my art for wellbeing challenge run for the month of June, people responded enthusiastically and shared beautiful shots. It's clearly a very positive artform.
Why do we have this instinct to photograph what we see? It's wanting to engage and respond. It's about sharing experiences with others, maybe on Facebook or Instagram. And it's all about time and memory – trying to hold back time, and gathering memories. That isn't just family or holiday photos, but taking any little moment out of time: a classic car you see passing, a pizza you're baking, or a new purchase you've made.
It's trying to hold on to time even as it evades our grasp, like sand trickling through an hourglass. But it's a happy move. It makes the moments matter, and that can lift mood most of all.
Today, on National Camera Day, or whenever you read this, make your photographs count. Think, engage, look back as well and notice what you might have missed. Try photographing from different angles, or photograph one subject – like a houseplant or garden plant – at different times of day in different levels of light or with different backdrops.
Maybe you'd like to share any thoughts on how photography impacts your life in Medley's Facebook group about art and wellbeing, Think Art - go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/244072321150998
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