...taking a photo undermines your memory
Aug 29, 2018 16:02:32 #
A careful photograph is a kind of brief (or longer) meditation. Too many quick pix might have the effect of shutting off the mind, convincing the person "I've looked, I'm done."
Aug 29, 2018 16:11:27 #
The picture above the article headline shows people 'videoing' the live show on a 'pad/phone'. So no, their appreciation of what is going on around them is limited. Whilst concentrating on capturing the stage - they ignore 'the crowd response'. ie like seeing a group on the tv rather than at a concert. The whole point of going to a concert is to get that 'groupy' thing going on. to enjoy other people's responses to reinforce your own feelings of seeing something 'special'. (it also annoys the hell out of those behind)
Does not equate at all with serious photography when you consider that most people 'explore' the subject in order to get the best shot much more carefully than a passing pedestrian who may simply give it a quick glance.
Does not equate at all with serious photography when you consider that most people 'explore' the subject in order to get the best shot much more carefully than a passing pedestrian who may simply give it a quick glance.
Aug 29, 2018 16:17:23 #
Your memory is not all that trustworthy anyway. The more you recall something, the more you are likely to unconsciously embellish it, according to psychologists. Shoot away! I would think the "dumb" recall by a camera might actually keep your memories accurate.
Aug 29, 2018 16:42:47 #
I don't think it's about memory per se but if you are busy taking pictures you might not actually see a lot of things at the location.
Aug 29, 2018 17:26:36 #
Aug 29, 2018 17:38:07 #
Accurate memories because of a image one has shot???
It will tell you the time and place NOT the feelings, NOT the smells, NOT the sound, not the full context in summary.
As far as memories goes, indeed our brain remembers the best, not the worse unless one makes an effort to do it. An image does not hold memories. It may trigger some stuff but not enough, far from it.
One mentioned 'the journey' when getting there and that person is right. The image captured may trigger a memory of it but... Did this person use the specific image and had to look for it to remember it? I think not. Did this prompted that person to look for the image in question? It is a possibility but curiously enough that would be the REVERSE. Remember the event and look for 'proof'.
It will tell you the time and place NOT the feelings, NOT the smells, NOT the sound, not the full context in summary.
As far as memories goes, indeed our brain remembers the best, not the worse unless one makes an effort to do it. An image does not hold memories. It may trigger some stuff but not enough, far from it.
One mentioned 'the journey' when getting there and that person is right. The image captured may trigger a memory of it but... Did this person use the specific image and had to look for it to remember it? I think not. Did this prompted that person to look for the image in question? It is a possibility but curiously enough that would be the REVERSE. Remember the event and look for 'proof'.
Aug 29, 2018 20:19:13 #
While I'm quite likely to have a good camera handy, I believe this thread's premise completely. Trying to document every aspect of your life with photos not only makes you miss things, it makes you that crazy person that always has a camera in their hand. When I go to a concert I listen to the music and leave the camera in the car.
Instead of snapping everything I believe in purposeful photography. I go to the beach and hang out with the family, play in the surf, and do normal beach stuff. Then in the evening or morning I take a stroll specifically to take beach photos. Same thing with camping trips, etc. I plan ahead and go to places to take photos, I don't impose my hobby on every outing with friends and family. That said, I think it's perfectly acceptable to document social gatherings with a group photo quickly tacked onto the end of an outing. Cell phones are the perfect tool for this.
Actually, I think owning a "big" camera (how my kids used to think of it) lends itself to knowing when to pull out the camera and when to leave it behind. I think many people who came into photography late and whose only camera is part of their smart phone are the main offenders when it comes to clicking at everything.
Instead of snapping everything I believe in purposeful photography. I go to the beach and hang out with the family, play in the surf, and do normal beach stuff. Then in the evening or morning I take a stroll specifically to take beach photos. Same thing with camping trips, etc. I plan ahead and go to places to take photos, I don't impose my hobby on every outing with friends and family. That said, I think it's perfectly acceptable to document social gatherings with a group photo quickly tacked onto the end of an outing. Cell phones are the perfect tool for this.
Actually, I think owning a "big" camera (how my kids used to think of it) lends itself to knowing when to pull out the camera and when to leave it behind. I think many people who came into photography late and whose only camera is part of their smart phone are the main offenders when it comes to clicking at everything.
Aug 29, 2018 21:32:34 #
I believe this can be true of many people at events who are staring at their phones instead of the reality around them. For example, a great photo of the Pope's visit where the excited fans are not even looking at him, trying to get a selfie instead. My philosophy is "Be Here Now". The snapshots they take with their phones will likely never be seen again. And, they will have missed a potentially significant event in their life. I vividly remember the photos I took at the van Gogh exhibit, enjoying the behavior of the other visitors -- that was the most fun for me!
Aug 29, 2018 22:01:43 #
kjfishman wrote:
What do you think about the small article...taking a photo undermines your memory ?
I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV, but...Stress undermines your memory. Photography helps reinforce it.
Aug 30, 2018 02:22:37 #
Aug 30, 2018 03:08:36 #
I would say the answer is that it both undermines and enhances the memory.
It may undermine your memory of he whole scene/event because you were concentrating on the things you photograph.
It may enhance your knowledge of the details of the subjects photographed because you concentrated on them.
Why do I say "may"? Because people with good situational awareness may take in the whole scene also and some in taking the photograph are concentrated on composition and technique to the point the subject may just be a vague shape/image about which they remember some features and totally miss others.
It may undermine your memory of he whole scene/event because you were concentrating on the things you photograph.
It may enhance your knowledge of the details of the subjects photographed because you concentrated on them.
Why do I say "may"? Because people with good situational awareness may take in the whole scene also and some in taking the photograph are concentrated on composition and technique to the point the subject may just be a vague shape/image about which they remember some features and totally miss others.
Aug 30, 2018 05:44:01 #
kjfishman wrote:
We get magazine called Bottom Line. What do you think about the small article...taking a photo undermines your memory ? My wife suggested I take too many photos.
what memory????
Aug 30, 2018 05:53:51 #
Tell your wife you ENJOY taking photos and it is a hobby
Hobbies are good for the brain.
Hobbies are good for the brain.
Aug 30, 2018 05:54:22 #
Susan Sontag implied something similar in her essay "On Photography." As there is no supporting data in the short blurb one can say little. However, it sounds like the kind of research undertaken so as to publish rather than perish that often involves statistical manipulations churned harder than Irish butter. My own sense and experience is that photos trigger more detailed memories of a particular moment, often times allowing for detailed recall of with whom, thinking what, and many associated feelings. In addition, photos can trigger many memories in others who shared the moment but did not take photos. Sounds like the sort of research that would be done using volunteer subjects culled from college students for a fee.
Probably destined to disappear into a dusty archives forgotten (does publishing a spurious paper impair memory?) and never again referenced.
Probably destined to disappear into a dusty archives forgotten (does publishing a spurious paper impair memory?) and never again referenced.
Aug 30, 2018 05:54:37 #
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