I never travel without my
camera. A big bag with the camera gear, the camera, three different kinds of
lenses, two batteries, a charger, a dozen SD cards, etc., my camera bag was
always overflowing. When I drove, it sat in the passenger's seat. When I flew,
it became the carry-on bag. When I walked, it made my shoulders bend on one
side. And I took pictures too. Big time. Of the nature. Of people and monuments.
Portraits of friends eating at restaurants. Close-up
of the food I ordered. I took an average of a hundred pictures a day during
every trip.
And then, I decided to
take a break. I decided to sometimes take my camera, but sometimes leave it
behind too. Earlier this year when I visited Washington, I walked by the river
and enjoyed this beautiful city without a camera. Next, I went to Florida. The
city with breathtaking ocean views, ships, sunrise by the Atlantic, and
picturesque beaches. Without a camera. During another trip, I walked around
Washington DC, visited the monuments, and ate dinner with a lot of friends. Then
in Baltimore, we walked by the Inner Harbor in the evening. The weather was
fantastic, the crowd energized on a Friday night. Since I did not have a
camera, I did not feel the need to take pictures.
It has been strangely
liberating. Once in a while, I saw something beautiful and instinctively
reached out for my camera, which was not there. It made me want to pause and
spend a few extra minutes taking things in, etching it all in my memory since
there will never be documentation of it. Meeting old and new friends and eating
at some great restaurants, walking in the city, but not leaving behind a trail
of documentation has been a freeing experience. If I could just cut down my
camera expeditions by 50%, and this will free up gigabytes of online storage
for me.
Perhaps attachment
minus bondage is what gives an ultimate freeing experience.
sunshine
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