What If We (Photographers) Just Watch The Fireworks?
... with our naked eyes.
When was the last time you went somewhere and just enjoyed yourself?Didn’t take any pictures, not even with your phone.
Over the past couple of years I’ve gotten much better about taking very few pictures on occasions like the 4th of July and New Year’s eve. None-the-less, as evidenced by the image above, I still couldn’t resist pulling out my Pixel phone and grabbing a few shots while we were sitting on the roof last year.
But why?
Would I have enjoyed the fireworks any less if I didn’t have pictures of them at the end of the night? More importantly, might I have enjoyed them more?
Sometimes it’s hard to be known (or view yourself) as “the photographer” on special occasions. I was most recently reminded of this at my daughter’s high school graduation.
Don’t get me wrong, I had to take pictures, and they will certainly be treasured, likely even years from now. But on the flip side, I spent the entire time looking through my camera lens. At one point, Jamie’s grandmother actually had to remind me that I should probably be in at least one picture myself.
That was it. That was the one graduation picture with Jaiden and Dad.
I can’t tell anybody else what to do. Heck, I often have a hard time sticking to my own plans. But this year for the 4th of July I really do plan to try my hardest to take absolutely Zero pictures. I’m going to enjoy the time with my family, watch some fireworks, and actually take in the view of the whole horizon, not just what I can see through my camera’s lens.
How about you? What are your plans?
p.s. okay, I get it, we take pictures, it’s who we are. Some of us can’t help it.
If you instist on getting your camera out tonight, here’s a post I wrote a couple of years back that you might find helpful:
How to take fireworks pictures
With the 4th of July Holiday coming up soon, I bet quite a few people are planning to go out and try to get some cool fireworks pictures. While I am by no means an "expert" on fireworks photography, I have captured a few nice images over the years (including the one above). As such, I feel I'm qualified to offer up a few ...
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This week’s post was on the topic of Photography. Next week we’ll be talking about mismatched self image in New Greater You.