Pictures can significantly influence and change people’s perceptions and what they have long taken for granted. For instance, the world’s most famous photo, Earth Rise, captured by William Anders, a former engineer working for NASA, showed a fragile blue set in dark space peeking over the moon that changed our perceptions of our place in space and fueled environmental awareness across the globe. Viewing the earth against the abyss induces feelings of vastness. According to Boyle et al. (2018). The “earth is a small planet orbiting, and an ordinary star in an unremarkable galaxy among the billions we can observe.” The picture evoked feelings of insignificance as the earth is only special because we live on it (Boyle et al., 2018).
In addition, the picture changes our perceptions of not taking each other for granted in that it shows how our lives are linked to each other and other forms of life on the planet. Populations should not view themselves as brothers because science tells them to do so but because they are one family and ride on earth together. (Boulton and Heithaus, 2018). On the other hand, when different countries on a map are zoomed into small places within the universe filled with thousands of people, it provokes the idea of how small we are. But considering the idea and viewing people differently because they are different and considering how I see the world, I see it in a way where everyone seems not to appreciate the finer things.
Buildings are forms of architecture that exist to create a physical environment where populations live. However, they are not just the built environment but also represent a population’s part of the culture and a representation of how individuals view themselves and the world. Buildings can be appreciated using various forms and mediums, including artwork and photography. However, individuals don’t take the time to appreciate or evaluate such an integral form of art within society. In order to reverse this, photography being a universal instrumental media in the modern world has been used as a tool to critique and analyze different works in this discipline. However, In the current age, people are too occupied with their phones and busy with their daily work, which fails them to appreciate the surrounding buildings, which affects their health, way of living, and culture (Bond, 2017). Furthermore, increased technology has influenced populations to lack interest in appreciating buildings as such pictures are readily found on online platforms such as Google. Therefore, some individuals find it irrelevant to take time in their busy schedules and appreciate artwork as they can quickly locate them on online museums, archives, and other software programs. This decreases the appreciation of the surrounding artworks and buildings as they can readily be found online, therefore saving time to try and connect or induce emotions with a piece of artwork.
In the modern age, people tend to be more concentrated on taking pictures through their mobile phones rather than taking time to admire the art of what they are trying to immortalize. In such a case, people are more interested in taking a picture with the beautiful artwork and posting it online to share it with friends, hence they do not see the need to take time and appreciate the exquisite nature of the artwork. Furthermore, most individuals do not photograph various artworks to appreciate the beauty or serenity but rather share them with friends and post them online. Hence, they do not take time to reflect on the artwork as even they had not immortalized it. During this type of photography, the capture moment is often flawed, resulting in images that do not capture any meaningful experience or evoke any emotions towards the artwork. Furthermore, people do not take the time to identify the key elements within the artwork and understand their feelings and emotions about what they will photograph. Failure to understand the features that make up the moment and taking time to understand an individual’s feelings and emotions towards a specific work leads to an image an individual finds hard to reflect on and usually find it hard to remember the exact feelings they experienced later.
According to Suciu (2019), families had photo albums during the 20th and early 21st centuries where they stored holidays, vacations, and special occasions pictures. This then was a significant way to keep and remember memories. However, in the modern era, populations carry mobile phones that act as the digitalized forms of photo albums in the current generation. The growth in social media has enhanced this as photos are not just shared during special events but constantly. According to the author, individuals in the modern era take photographs every two minutes more than ever in the years of photography. According to Camera and Imaging Products, the number of camera sales dropped from 121.5 million in 2010 to 13 million in 2016. This is because individuals prefer cameras that are easy to use and decent. Additionally, Facebook and Instagram are also significant factors that have influenced decreased use of cameras. People find it easier to upload pictures to these platforms directly from their mobiles than first copying them to the computer and then uploading them. This ease in quick uploading and sharing diminished the value of photography.
In addition, Facebook refined “memories” where individuals can view moments they experienced with their families and friends, including photos. This makes individuals view old photos, which diminishes the need to take photographs or keep album photos. Modern storage platforms have increased, and populations can store pictures on Instagram, Facebook, and Flickr. Therefore, the picture’s context is diminished even if the image is stored for a long time. Notably, the picture’s value is lost. Furthermore, the photography profession is dying because fewer people need their services, and individuals fail to respect it as they perceive it violates copyright regulations and ownership of photos.
Pictures can also change peoples’ perspectives of their everyday life. Humans are emotional, and life often brings out the worst and best in us, and through feelings, people can express this. The best way to record such emotions is by taking a picture that captures feelings and most extraordinary experiences during that time. Pictures create a pause and enhance individuals’ thoughts on the times they have experienced before, such as anniversaries, natural disasters, weddings, and birthday parties. Such pictures offer individuals a chance to evaluate how their lives have altered or stayed the same. Through this, people can take a closer look at their lives because pictures enhance them to concentrate on a specific time (Glazer, 2022). Thus, pictures can inspire, change people’s views, shake people’s ideals, educate, and invoke emotions such as fears and anxiety that influence an individual’s perspective.
Taking photos has some advantages in memory retention when done mindfully. Studies suggest that when individuals take time to study and reflect on the place, they want to take pictures of and capture specific elements they hope to remember and, therefore, memories become embedded in their consciousness and are immortalized at the moment. Moreover, in most cases, when individuals take time to cement details in their minds before taking a picture, the picture is a frozen moment from the various string of moments. In this case, behind every photo is a story, and behind every story, there is a past, and the emotions that the picture evokes give the photo its meaning. Such a photo help individuals to recall a picture more accurately since human memories are fallible. In this context, scholars argue that our brains do not capture all experiences and feelings but rather construct them on the current beliefs, biases, and attitudes. In addition, when trying to remember the experiences or mood a specific picture was taken within, the brain has to filter new information, experiences, and perspectives (Austin, 2021). In such a case, when a photo is immortalized during the capturing moment, individuals can easily recall the moments as they really happened and brings back an individual at the exact moment.
Capture moment in photography refers to expressing feelings, emotions, vibes, and atmosphere at a point in time as it happens through photography. It comes from more than just the subjects of the scenery but also from the photographer. The concept of capturing the moment and preserving it is the lifetime core of good photography. Ideally, every capturing moment should help an individual retain the memories of the moment and remember them in the future. However, this is not often the case because the human mind does not store accurate information for a long period and is both active and dynamic. Therefore, people may fail to remember or reconstruct the moment as the memory has been reconstructed through the filter of new information, experiences, and perspectives. In this case, the capture moment is more concerned with the picture as the picture never changes and is instrumental in helping individuals recall and reconstruct the moments as they really occurred.
Photograph’s meanings are strongly depicted by how an individual perceives its value during the capturing moment and whether the image reflects on the effort made by the photographer. For individuals to perceive that the image is worthy, they feel that each time they look at it, it reflects the effort they made and the emotions they experienced during that time. Therefore, the picture’s meaning lies between the connection of the capturing moment and the photo (Damon, 2012). However, the picture may change its meaning over time as individuals tend to forget the capturing moment, and often the brain has experienced new information, experiences, and perspectives. Therefore, an individual will interpret the photo according to the current mood, experience, and perceptions of a particular moment.
Reference List
Austin, D. (2021). To Remember The Moment, Try Taking Fewer Photos. NPR. [online] 5 Aug. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/05/1022041431/to-remember-the-moment-try-taking-fewer-photos.
Bond, M. (2017). The hidden ways that architecture affects how you feel. [online] Bbc.com. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170605-the-psychology-behind-your-citys-design.
Boulton, M.M. and Heithaus, J. (2018). Opinion | We Are All Riders on the Same Planet. The New York Times. [online] 24 Dec. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/earth-space-christmas-eve-apollo-8.html [Accessed 29 Mar. 2022].
Boyle, C., Gray, J., Arblaster, J., Bettio, L., Webster, R., Morgan, R. and Torok, S. (2018). Earthrise, a photo that changed the world. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/earthrise-a-photo-that-changed-the-world-109009.
Damon (2012). The meaning in a photograph. [online] Photokonnexion. Available at: https://www.photokonnexion.com/the-meaning-in-a-photograph/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2022].
Glazer, J. (2022). Importance of Photography in Our Lives. [online] thriveglobal.com. Available at: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/importance-of-photography-in-our-lives/.
Suciu, P. (2019). A Photo Used To Be Worth A Thousand Words, But Thanks To Social Media Photos Have Lost Their Value. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2019/10/24/a-photo-used-to-be-worth-a-thousand-words-but-thanks-to-social-media-photos-have-lost-their-value/?sh=66c9d124607f [Accessed 29 Mar. 2022].
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