Why Photography is Integral to Being Human

A thought while lying in bed:

Perhaps there is something integral about photography and being human.

Some thoughts:

Memory and Photography

It seems what distinguishes us humans from the rest of animals is our memory. Our memory of the past, our memory of our experiences— and perhaps our sense of “self”is intensely tied to memory.

When we photograph something, we augment our human memory. There’s a ton of past memories I forget, yet the photographs spur the memory forward.

Now — how much do we desire to remember, or how much should we remember? I think we shouldn’t remember everything (perhaps becoming wiser entails unlearning superfluous knowledge). Also, I am happy that my human memory works in such a way that I prefer to forget the past in order to create anew. Or the ability of my memory to “Photoshop” out negative past memories and experiences. I’m quite forgetful, which is a blessing — I’m not so haunted by the past.

Photography as art creation

My favorite part of photography is this:

Photography is the ultimate instantaneous form of art-creation.

For the most part, there is no other art form or art tool which enables artistic creation in such a detailed, accurate, realistic, and instant way.

The iPhone has probably been the best invention for photography. The iPhone camera is (by far) the most used camera on earth. And I expect it to continue to get more and more popular, and over time — we will see more digital cameras and companies die off, as smartphones take the lions share of the market.

I personally love the iPhone because I consider it the ultimate form of democratic art creation, and the ultimate democratic tool for photographers. I’m even typing these words on an old iPhone 6S (in 2019), which still works fantastic. And all the photos in this essay are shot with HUJI CAM app— and I love the color renditions, the aesthetics, and random light effects!

Photography improves our lives

Photography improves my life. It has also improved the life of my mom. She’s been passionate about art her whole life, and the smartphone has been her ultimate tool of creation. She must have shot at least half a million photos (all stored on Google Photos)— and she uses her passion for hiking, backpacking, camping, travel, and wildflowers to drive her photography forward.

She shares beautiful moments and scenes with others. She shares them with me. She shows the beauty of the world through the photographs she captures.

Photography and gratitude

I believe if photography helps you discover more gratitude in life, it is ultimately justified.

Life (and being alive) is the greatest blessing we humans possess.

Let us use photography as a tool and as a means to discover more joy, happiness, levity, and beauty in the world and life!

ERIC