Do we miss experiencing a moment fully while capturing a photograph?

During a recent trek to the Himalayas, I was lucky enough to capture a time-lapse of the setting sun. It took efforts to find the right spot and ensure the crowd around me did not appear in the frame. However, as I reached home and replayed the time-lapse, I could not shake off a nagging feeling. The smooth sequence of images did not evoke any emotions in me. It did not take my mind to the beautiful moment and location that had encapsulated that capture.

That is when I realised I was so focused on capturing the perfect shot that I missed experiencing the beautiful sunset fully. I remembered the spectacular setting — the soothing amber glow, the sweet chirping of the birds, the cool breeze, the exclamations of the fellow trekkers, but I felt like an outsider and not a participant. I felt robbed of the experience!

When we look at a photograph of a moment of note, it is as if we are revisiting the moment in our minds and living it again. However, with increasingly easy access to better cameras and social media fuelling comparisons, people are now seldom satisfied with their captures.

The early cameras with rolls compelled a photographer to be judicious in their use. The number of shots were limited. With digital cameras, there are no constraints. So shutterbugs take hundreds of photographs of the same subject. They get so immersed in the process that they miss out on the main objective — that of living the moment. They might get that perfect shot of a tiger but do they remember the regal manner in which it walked, the way it contorted its facial expressions or the mist that accompanied its every exhalation in the cold morning?

This is why mindful photography is the need of the hour. One should be technically ready to capture the best image possible and still be proactive in trying to experience the moment. One way is to set aside “non-camera time”, where one places away the camera and enjoys the moment. Another way is to be more conscious about the number of captures one takes.

This concept is portrayed beautifully in the movie Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In one of the scenes, they show a renowned photographer trying to capture a Snow leopard on camera. However, when the Snow leopard appears, he just stares at it without photographing it. On being quizzed by his confused companion as to when he would take the image, he replies, “If I like a moment, I mean me personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it. Right there…right here.”

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