2006-03-27
the truth about digital cameras
When the butterfly landed in my hand, I didn't have a camera with me. Then I remembered my cell phone with its fancy photo button--not that the pixilated pictures ever come out as clear.
In these fleeting moments, I'm thankful for digital magic. But sometimes I wonder if the memory in my mind is more interesting than the photo? Does the camera help me remember...or forget?
Without my digital camera, I couldn't have snuck these pictures inside the Gusman theatre. In this shot, I can't see the stuffed peacock nailed to the balcony, but I remember it staring at me with glassy eyes.
The lights glowed brighter in my mind. I took more than one shot...but I deleted the rest. Where do digital photos go when they die? What about all the candid moments that we throw away, just because they didn't come out perfect--whatever that means...
Maybe they have made our memories more disposable.
I'll look at this photo on a disk someday. Will I remember why I took it? Or where I stood? Or who was laughing with me?
Maybe digital cameras can teach people to look at the world in close-ups instead of wide angles.
f-i-n at 12:41 p.m.