appreciate the intangible

#4478 - Junco Eggs
Originally uploaded by Tuzen

Photography can teach us to notice and appreciate the intangibles of life, which are often free. When I look at photos, I get choose to re-enjoy past, or to have others communicate their fleeting or intangible messages to me. I think this kind of enjoyment can serve as an antidote to consumerism.

Taking photos helps me appreciate new details, around me all the time, and discover wonder in what I already have.  On close inspection, many new things are disposable and lack interesting details that will hold our attention.  My camera seeks details easily found in people, nature and experience.

Cameras themselves can create a problem for photographers, in that cameras are interesting.  Seeing through the camera, at a scene, requires a sufficient level of disinterest in the hardware.  I suggest that we should also enjoy photos to further develop some disinterest in camera hardware, and thus take better photos.