Stuff in my head

Distorting memories

The mind has a habit of distorting memories beyond the experience we actually had. One way we counter that is through documenting experiences through photography. A great photo can bring back evocative memories that take you right back to that moment.

The more honest that image is the better you’ll be able to recall the occasion that triggered the desire to capture that moment. The minute you change that - augment it in some way, it becomes something else.

Which is my primary beef with apps like instagram. Beyond the inane (but sometimes artful) shots of esoteric objects with a nifty filter applied, you often see shots of a wedding, a newborn baby, a beautiful sunset… but with a 1970’s vignette applied.

I don’t understand why you’d want to distort something so precious as that memory with a pastiche of another memory. After all is it meant to be a beautiful picture of a beach or a picture of a beautiful beach?

It’s fun to make cool images in the name of art but to me, memories should be captured as faithfully as possible, so when you’re old, a bit senile and reflecting on times gone by, you can sit in your rocking chair and enjoy seeing things how they were, not through the lens of a cheesy filter.