I returned a couple of days ago from several days photographing fall color in the Sierra Nevada, something I’ve been doing now for quite a few years. At first, not knowing much about this astonishing annual transition, I worked to figure out the “best” places and times to find aspen color — but I worked, as I so often do, by looking around and speculating more than by doing research. I certainly did find the iconic color locations, but my slow and personal process led me to many places that are not necessarily on the “fall color map” in the Sierra.
It also turns out that the “most beautiful spots” are not necessarily the most beautiful spots! The most special places for me are often in odd little locations that I found by some combination of accident, persistence, and guessing — and they have become special partly because of the whole experience of finding and visiting them.
I was thinking about this as I drove down one well-known road on Sunday. I was on that road primarily because there is a campground there at which I often stay, but I also stopped to photograph a bit there as well. During one stop a small car jammed with visitors pulled up behind me, and one of the people got out and attached a small video camera to the car’s roof. They took off down this beautiful road without, as far as I could tell, stopping again, apparently content in the knowledge that their camera was recording the visual scene for them.
On one hand, I’m happy that a wide range feel that visiting these places is important enough to make the trek, and I hold out hope that they will be affected enough to help ensure their preservation and appreciation. On the other hand, a thought occurred to me about where this trajectory is heading. There was a time when someone got the idea of putting up “scenic viewpoint” or “photo location” signs to signal to people when and where they should stop their driving and get out of the car, look around, and snap a photo. Then a few years back we started to see a new phenomenon — a car would drive up, windows roll down, cameras and smart phones pointed through windows, and then the car would head on down the road. Now we are at the point where one doesn’t need to stop at all — with a video camera on the roof or attached to the inside of a window, it is certain that no thing will be left unrecorded and there is no need to stop and actually look.
Morning Musings are somewhat irregular posts in which I write about whatever is on my mind at the moment. Connections to photography may be tenuous at times!
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Dusty, I think you touch on a lot of important ideas in your post.
When I wrote the article about “Seeing Without Seeing,” I was aware that my focus was on what was being missed rather than on what is potentially being gained. (I briefly alluded to that second element when I wrote: “I’m happy that a wide range feel that visiting these places is important enough to make the trek, and I hold out hope that they will be affected enough to help ensure their preservation and appreciation.”)
While I’m aware of the negative effect of only “seeing without seeing,” I think that it is perhaps a good thing that at least these people are out there where there are things to see. They must believe that these places have value, and there are all sorts of positive outcomes to come from that.
I’m not at all against using smart phone cameras, either, nor am I against recurring the moment for posterity — and for this smart phone cameras seem to excel. They are handy, produce decent quality, and promote the sharing of the images.
In fact, my point may not be so much about photography as it is about experiencing things. For me — and I’m probably an outlier case — these visually beautiful places are not just about the bright colors or other elements of the impressive visual world. They are also about slowing down and looking around, about discovering the richness of things that are so often overlooked, the sounds and smells and the feeling of cool air, and all the rest of it.
And, of course, those folks with the GoPro attached to their roof as they drove past aspens were unable to share in those parts of the experience.
I also agree with you — for the most part — about being a friendly photographer. It is good for photography and the photographer, in fact! Lots of times when I’m at an iconic spot and waiting for just the right light or arrangement of clouds, I’ll see a family nearby getting ready for the “family minus one” group photograph, in which Mom or Dad aren’t in the photo. And I almost always offer to use their camera to make the shot for them. It is a fun thing to do!
Dan
Hi Dan,
I am a bit conflicted on this myself…this drive-thru photography phenomenon; and this iPhone photography thing as well.
My niece took an interest in photography not too long ago; presumably inspired by my own interest. Her grandmother purchased her a camera (not an SLR, but) fully capable of producing images for someone in the early stages of learning. It took just a few weeks for her to stop using it entirely in favor of her cell phone.
I think the main draw here is the ability to instantly share on facebook or whatever social media one chooses. My niece being 17, that’s where her focus is. Some people never outgrow this mentality, I think. And so, they end up becoming drive-thru photographers.
I wonder if I passed by you this weekend. I took my family (including my cell-phone photographing niece) up the 395 (from San Diego) to Tahoe, stopping at Mono Lake, Convict Lake, Nevada State Beach, Zephyr Cove. Most of the color I spotted was in inconvenient-to-stop places. Having my wife and 3-year-old in the car prevented me from just stopping wherever I liked. But, there was plenty of lovely fall color.
I don’t think this style of “experiencing” places is going to change. I think it will become more abbreviated and less personal. The positive thing I take away from it, as I watch someone create a mindless, passionless image with little or no interest in the place where it was taken-in a hurry to snap it and move on, is that it doesn’t prevent me from hanging around and absorbing the place and the beauty around me.
Let those people come and go.
I have noticed something which is kind of fun (though it makes me feel a little guilty at times) when I’m shooting. Sometimes, when people (non-photographers) see me with my tripod and gear, they tend to give me extra space, assuming I’m doing something important. Parents will direct their kids to stay out of my way, though I have asked for no such space. I always make sure to thank these people for their extra thoughtfullness, as it is not the norm.
I think it’s important for photographers to remember that they don’t own the view. Owning expensive gear, or being “on-the-job” is not an excuse or right to be uncooperative, or unfriendly.
Sorry if I strayed off topic; it seemed vaguely related at the time.
-Dusty