Many people claim to have a photographic memory. There are varying degrees of truth to these claims, but for most, memories are still subject to bias and the gradual corruptions of time. I, however, do have a photographic memory, and I have evidence to support this claim. You see, I am a photographer, so my memories exist not only in some deep recess of the mind but rather in the physical form of the images I create.
My passion for capturing memories has given me many unique experiences and has taken me to some incredible places. I have captured the blues of the oceans, the greens of the jungle, the reds of the desert, and countless other shades that would rival the palette of even a master painter. I have also had the pleasure of helping people celebrate a wide range of momentous events. I have been invited to numerous weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions. It is true that I sometimes feel like I’m being used only for my talents, but I can’t argue with the good times I’ve had while doing my work.
Of course, my job is not always so glamorous, and there are times where my very nature has gotten me into trouble. Sometimes, people run when they see me coming, as they do not want to be photographed. For this reason, I must be especially careful when I visit beaches, swimming pools, and any other place where people might feel vulnerable. Heaven forbid I should run into a celebrity! That can turn absolutely ugly! I have learned to accept that there are simply times when I am just not wanted.
Another unfortunate aspect of my work is that I am somewhat mistreated at times. I have been beaten up on several occasions and have been downright neglected while completing my work. I have frozen in the snow, been drenched in the rain, been smacked against countless walls, and worst of all, I’ve been exposed to windstorms on the beach. Do you have any idea how bad sand can be for a photographer? There are some places that you just don’t want sand to go! Despite all of this danger, I do not think that anyone sets out to harm me. I think that people just forget about me since I work so efficiently.
Even though my job is not without its difficulties, I still can’t think of anything else I’d rather do. It is nice to be able to look back on my creations and relive my experiences all over again. With time, the bad memories begin to fade and all I see in my photographs now are the great experiences and adventures of my career. There's a saying in my profession that has been used so often that it has become cliché. I'm sure you've heard it before, "a picture is worth a thousand words." It makes sense that this statement would be overused, as it represents a truth of photography. Given the nature of my work, it only feels appropriate for me to end my memoir today with a photograph of myself. I may have used 500 words above to tell you about myself, but perhaps the included photo will give you a better picture of who I really am.
Guest Writer: Mr. Allen
I also enjoy photography and the beauty of a captured image. I think it's a beautiful thing that we are able to create.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about the art of photography that I find so comforting. Though I am an amateur, I still enjoy doing it.
A photograph is a piece of art, a memory, captured in time. Time stops and all is calm. Whatever emotion was in that place, a photograph can capture more efficiently than any written word.
It is very beautiful. Then again, all art has some beauty to it, or it wouldn't be art. Hope to see some of your pictures in class.
DeleteI agree completely. A photograph is more than just a piece of paper, it is an art. Regardless of what level you are the moments you capture are entirely special to you. There are times when I think "professional artists" lose sight of why they started doing this in the first place. In a way, I see the beginners and amateurs as the real professionals. Being filled with such promise and determination and a bright twinkle in their eye every time they do what they love. Those are the real artists.
DeleteWell I never really looked at photography as a profession that I would enjoy learning about, but after reading this post I may actually go out and do a further examination of some of the art that comes out of it. I really would like to see some of Mr. Allen's works to be honest.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, the post was very well written, and I could see how much passion he truly has for photography. I wish the best for the art that comes from your photos!
I have enjoyed your memoir above and think that it is unique and intreguing. I commend you for the things that you went through but never gave up what you loved best. I can relate to this because no matter how many people make fun of me for being a cheerleader, I will never give up. I love it so much that I could never quit because of what other people think. So thank you for sharing your story because it made me think of mine and how proud I am of myself:)
ReplyDeleteI said something of the sort in my reply. No matter how many people laugh, the best revenge for yourself is to prove them wrong. You work until your hands are numb, but when it's finished, your routine, your piece of the puzzle-- it all fits into place and they realize that they are the ones who are wrong for what they do. :D
DeleteYou and Mr. Allen are both right. :P
DeleteAnd I know what you mean for getting crap for doing something you love. I was in wood shop, but I was the only girl in their. This was all last semester, but I got a bunch of sexist comments from some of the guys. They would always tell me to go to the kitchen, and make them a sandwich. There was some worse stuff, but I'm not going to say. All of that didn't stop me, I kept doing what I love to do, build stuff. When we had to do an independent project, everyone did something simple, but yet I made a complicated project. I did what I love best, and so do you. You have to have respect for someone that can do that.
Yes! I agree with both of you and thank you for commenting!!!
DeleteThe way you feel about photography is the way I feel about writing. It's different, in a sense, because one day my works will be widely known. But for now it's just me and my senses, trying to make sense of everything around me and turn it into works of written art. I interview people once in a great while, and on those occasions I am beaten down for asking questions that pry too much. But what is writing without digging up absolutely everything about the subject? So I dance around a question for a while, until they end up revealing what I want to know. And it works. That is, until they realize what they've said and grow irritated with me. Though, that is the price to pay for such a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is not only the issue of dealing with other people, but dealing with myself. Sometimes I am not distraught enough to write, and sometimes I'm too upset to write. Sometimes there's too much noise around me to focus in on my thoughts. Sometimes I just plain don't feel like writing. Sometimes I feel like writing, but the words refuse to show themselves.
Though, this is my passion, as your passion is photography. The artist is ever suffering from a self-inflicted perfection of what they create. For me, a thousand words are better than any picture. But for you, a picture is better than a thousand words. The picture above tells me absolutely nothing about you, but everything about what you wrote tells me about the very core of you. It's almost scary how easily I see it, and stunning how I know that nearly every person who reads this will not see you standing behind a wall of text.
You don't know me, Mr. Allen, as I have not been in any of your classes, but I now know you.
Wow!!! I have honestly thought of photography tat way. I mean I knew about all the adventures and experiences, but I didn't know that it came with so many dangers. What makes me really curious, but why would you get beaten up??? You were only doing your job. That kinda makes me a little mad because it shows how much respect people get sometimes. <-- A little bit of sarcasm. At least you still did what you love, and I think that is absolutely amazing.
ReplyDeleteSome of my friends are really amazing at photography to, and they are just amateurs. It makes me wonder what they can do when they are professionals, reading your post made me curious about it. I am not good at photography, so feel my envy about it too. I am jealous of people that can take good pictures. I can be artistic, but not to an amazing level like that. I am only good at building things, it seems to be what I am best at when it comes to creativity.
And this post was really good, I was a bit confused at first when you were talking about photographic memory, but now I get it. A photograph is a photographic memory.
I think the trials and tribulations of the camera parallel the same of the photographer holding it.
ReplyDeleteThe camera, although very efficient, cannot work without the person. There has to be someone creative enough to set up for that picture- that work of blood, toil, tears and sweat- and capture that exact moment.
My brother is a professional photographer. He has his own company. My mother is too, as well as my father. And my younger sister and myself, as aspiring photographers of some sort. My point to that was to just say that even though we all grew up in different times and places, we have all been through the same things when it comes to our work.
"Being a photographer is stupid. Go get a real job" literally comes up on a daily basis for my brother. My mother and father both got the same thing, and my sister and I have had our fair share of non-believers. We, like the camera, work until the very last piece is in place, and capture that moment- it could be the only time anyone will remember anything about it.
I think that the camera and the human have such a connection because one cannot function without the other; they are less understood than other professions.
My question for the rest of the world is this: How are they really any different, if you are doing exactly what you love?
I'm always interested when it comes to reading your comments on her because the way that you are when you talk and wright are completely diffrent and they collide in a manner that is really amazing :). But i like that all of your stories are all about how you over came something in your life. Like this post is about you and your family over coming the non-believers that try to put down your dream. I want to read more of your stories!!
DeleteBravo, Sarah! I think you hit upon exactly what I was going for with my post.
DeleteI am sorry to hear that your family members have had to struggle for their art, but I am happy that they do indeed get to do something that they love!
I am jealous of all the traveling you have done and the sights you have seen. Your love for photography has repayed you with letting you capture the beauty of life, yet you also got to see how cruel mother nature can be. It's quite obvious that you are passionate about photography and you also respect others' wishes when they dont want their pic taken. It sounds like it can be difficult at times, but you keep on striving and that inspirational.
ReplyDeleteMr. Allen you are a really good writer! Even though throughout this whole post you were writing about photography it was still universal because you have alot of passion for what you do, heck you even got beat up and still go back for more! you went through all of these things and still didnt give up your dream of being a photographer nor did you give up your love for it. All of us have that one thing in our lives fighting, singing, tennis, dance, or cheerleading that we live for, that we love to do and be a part of and this post is all about when youre doing the things you love sometimes you run into problems like people using you, getting hurt, or sometimes just falling off track with what your supposed to be doing but if you love it enough you will keep going forward with it. the moments that we spend doing the things we love are the moments that become installed in us forever.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know you very well Mr. Allen, in fact I don't even know what you look like. At first I thought that we were talking about Nathan until we said "math teacher."
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome to hear that you like math as well as english AND photography! I happen to love all those things...ok, maybe not LOVE, but thoroughly enjoy. Recently, I just got a Nikon D5100 camera, and it is AMAZING. I'm so happy because I'm what other people may call an "artist." I draw constantly, and it's my passion to make people see beautiful things, in writing, photography and art. (Even though they're ALL art in my opinion.)
I know what you mean (but maybe not as deeply) by that sometimes people don't like you for what you do. Sometimes I write about something that someone doesn't want to hear, or take a picture that makes them feel uncomfortable or even angry. Or better yet, draw something that people just don't like. But you know what? There is ALWAYS someone who will. And it's an amazing feeling to have them flip out about it.
IF you want to, I post a lot of my art/writing/photography on a website called deviantART. I don't understand why it is blocked here, but if you get a chance to see it, my username is 'i-am-tsukiko'... I'm interested to see what you think of it.
Emmy, you are too an artist!!! We all are, in our own ways. Your pictures are amazing, and I am envious of that. I will never be able to draw as much as you. You can do amazing things with your art if you want. I truly believe that you could become famous from it.
DeleteI agree, I love seeing the reactions of people when they read or look at something controversial. That is also one of the reasons why I choose to write about things that aren't the norm because it makes people uncomfortable (I'll admit, I get enjoyment out of it).
DeleteI completely agree. Emily, you are an amazing artist. I wouldn't say it if i didn't mean it.(:
DeleteYAY for appreciative people~ :D
DeleteAnd yeah Krystal, I know what you mean, although sometimes if they end up hating you for it, it isn't as fun.
This was awesome! I thought it was an actual person until I saw the picture at the end!
ReplyDeleteThe meaning behind the story makes a lot of sense though. Memories are really important throughout life. They are why you are you. However I don't agree that memories are biased. The point of view of the memory was your own. If memories are biased, then that would in a way mean that all of our lives are biased. With memory comes hindsight. You can see that maybe you were being biased at the time, but you also understand the whole situation and can see where the other person was coming from.
Ok after reading a lot of comments I now realize that you are an actual person. I'm sorry if I offended you! I seriously thought that this was a personification of a camera because of the picture at the bottom.
DeleteAndra, there is no need to apologize. When I wrote the piece, I wanted to be ambiguous as to the actual author. The idea was to make the reader think that it was me until the very end. The picture of the camera was meant to cause the reader to question the true author. I suppose that the piece is really a reflection on the interdependence of the photographer and his camera. I commend you for your willingness to embrace this alternative vision!
DeleteHahahah Andra, you're so funny!
DeleteAnd interesting thought, that we live biasedly. That happens a lot, but that's why we have court isn't it? When we were kids and argued we got a spanking if we didn't apologize or if it got out of hand and got sent to our room, but now adults have "court"...Pfft! Adults are just larger versions of kids, lol!
I wanted to be a photographer when I was nine and then I lost interest in it until last year when I was reading a book that mentioned photography a lot. It was talking bout the black room where you produced all your photos and hung them up to dry, it seems like it would be a really cool thing to do for a hobby. I wouldn't be able to seriously do something with it because my photography skills aren't that great anymore. One of my sister's friends is a model and they basically starve you until you become the size they want, and that is probably the worst job out there if you have to sacrifice eating and taking care of yourself. I either want to be a writer or do something that involves writing that I can make money doing. If your just a writer, you cant guarantee that your work will be published and you'll make money off it and that can't be your only career because your going to have to make money somehow. The only thing that I want to do in my career is write, whenever I think about doing something else it just doesn't feel normal.
ReplyDeleteYeah, having a career as a writer isn't always guarenteed. I want to be a graphic novelist, and I feel like that might even be harder, but I have to try, because after all, it's my dream. If not I want to work as an assistant for one or work for Disney (or any other videogame or animation company...it truly is my passion).
DeleteWoot! I've been waiting to see you post as a guest writer Mr. Allen and this really intrigued me. I had never taken into account the life of a photographer as being this deep. It almost seems out of character for you. I can understand the point you are trying to get across. I was the type of person that used to take pictures for granted. I had always thought that as long as I had kept the moments in my memories I would never have any need for pictures. One day I turned to see that people very important to me had disappeared and through time their faces and those memories we had shared were disappearing as well. My eyes were open to the realization that those simples flashes and clicks of a camera could capture the things i had forgotten and I wouldn't have to worry about them disappearing in time. People should be more open to taking a photo because one day they may never remember what had happened to them or how special that moment was to their life. I still struggle with being open to having my picture taken, but I am working to overcome that and capture the little things that I hold dear to me.
ReplyDeleteYami, I used to have the same experience with photography that you've mentioned here. There was a time (high school) when I refused to let people photograph me. To be honest, I thought that photography was a somewhat "cheap" art in that anyone could pick up a camera and take a picture.
DeleteThis all changed in college when I enrolled in a black - and - white photography course. At first, I latched onto the technical aspects of photography. I enjoyed the relationship between light and exposure. I got a real kick out of creative compositions. Ever since this class, my love for photography has grown exponentially (f(x) = 2^x). No, that's not a smiley face, it's an exponential equation. Math jokes, ha!
Look at me rambling... back to the point of my reply, I wanted to comment on the memory idea you mentioned. My fiance and I just had a conversation the other day about the value of everyday pictures. We were sitting in the mall food court wondering how it used to look. After several years, the current layout has become the only thing my mind can recall. I find myself desiring a picture of the old mall food court. This is funny, as very few people would consider such a picture to be an impressive work of art. Art or not, one cannot deny the value of such an image. Did anyone actually photograph the old mall? Probably, but I would guess that the focus wasn't on the food court itself but rather on someone in the picture wearing a goofy hat or stuffing french fries up his nose.
Thoughts like these make me want to go around taking pictures of everything. You never know when someone or something might change or be gone for good. Yami, your point is well taken!
I have to say, being a photographer sounds like an intense experience. I think that writers and photographers have a lot in common. Being able to capture or recreate and moment in time wether it be through a lens or through a pen and paper is truly tremendous.
ReplyDeleteI also think that writers and photographers spend a great deal of their time looking at situations from different vantage points. It is one thing to be in the picture than to be taking it, as well as it's one thing to be in the story than to write it. Different feelings and emotions are connected with "the man behind the curtain." I think people who are essentially the stage crew to the everyday play we call life become under appreciated.
To add, I whole-heartedly agree that memories can be biased. Pictures usually do tell a lot more than any mouth could. Pictures can be visual thoughts and for visual learners like myself pictures and images are everything.
I give credit to the people behind the lens, for it is not an easy job.
I low how you talked about "the man behind the curtain". I read a very good book called "flash burnout" about a sophomore who loves photography, and one of the things that their teacher always mentioned is that there are two people in a photograph: the subject, and the photographer.
DeleteSorry, I meant *love*, not low.
DeleteIn a way photography kind of freaks me out. I don't fully comprehend how technology can do what photography does, so I guess I'm a little scared of the unknown. Do you feel like a picture is accurate? Does it, or can it, capture what you are attempting to capture? Also, is something lost, taken away, or even stolen in a picture?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between a memory and a photograph? I can't seem to separate the two in my mind. Is that wrong? Inaccurate? Because of this, photographs are a bit painful for me (when I really think about them). I'm not trying to focus on the negative, but it seems like a futile effort to capture the fleeting. I mourn the fleeting harder than most, I think, and I often want so desperately to live in the moment that I have a hard time seeing certain moments float off into the sunset. In some ways pictures could be all that we have left, and sometimes that doesn't seem fair. Life's not fair, though, so why should pictures be something that life isn't. After all, pictures capture life. Life is beautiful, so it is fair that pictures are beautiful. So I guess life is fair after all :)
I completely understand what you're saying about wanting to go back to that moment and live in it forever. But the thing is, we can't, no matter how much we want to. But that's okay, we've got plenty of more time to make even better memories. And photographs, too.(:
Deletewell... i don't know exactly what to say other than the most annoying thing that i have to do on vacation is line up with my brother and sister in front of a plant and take a picture, especially when one of us blinks and we have to stand there for another ten minutes because my brother doesn't know how to keep his eyes open for ten seconds. sometimes i think he does it on purpose. i remember when we were in Disney World, it was just my immediate family. we were trying to take a picture in front of the big castle that cinderella lives in and the kids lined up so we could take a picture. Now that day it was like ninety and there was not a cloud in the sky. we were looking in to the sun and we couldn't see my mom taking the picture. now my mom, being the nice lady she is said "don't worry ill count to three so you'll know when to open your eyes" this made me feel alot better. So we lined up and then three, two, one. My sister and I opened our eyes but our brother didn't so i yell at him and we start the process all over again. ten minutes later my mom decides to abandon ship she shows us the picture and my brother looks like a pug. Honestly his faced is scrunched up and you can barely see his eyes.
ReplyDeletei realize that i left out apart i do not like taking pictures when i'm in them i like getting my picture takin i just don't like standing in the sun smiling for ten minutes
DeleteHahahah, I know exactly how you feel, I have two younger brothers, but instead of blinking, they'll make obnoxiously annoying faces at the last second, so we have to take one picture about twenty times...it's very tedious.
Delete"A picture is worth a thousand words" is, in some cases, true. For example, one can write multiple paragraphs to put the image of a character they have in their head to paper, give the reader some hint of what they imagine a scene to look like, and still feel they haven't quite captured the true essence of the image, that they have failed to convey the picture that is so clear in their mind's eye. In such scenarios, a picture can truly be worth a thousand words or more.
ReplyDeleteIn other such cases, an artist may be trying to explain a picture they have taken or drawn and find that words cannot express the meaning of the picture, that they cannot fully convey everything that they want to convey, no matter how many words they use.
In other cases, however, a picture is worth fewer than a thousand words. Sometimes, an image can be summed up with just a few short sentences: "It's a rose. I just zoomed in really close to see how it'd look and ended up taking a picture 'cause it looked cool."
As good as pictures can be at conveying what cannot be put to words while still doing the original justice, some just don't give viewers enough to work with. There isn't enough in the picture for us to say something amazingly philosophical without pulling something random out of the metaphorical hat that doesn't actually have anything to do with anything in the picture.
However, there are things that are, at times, worth far more than the "thousand words" to a picture. Comics, as little as some people care for them, are worth more because they are a combination. Comics are made up of a collection of pictures and the occasional bubble filled with words that (usually) have little -- if anything -- to do with the picture they appear in, since they are conveying the dialogue that would otherwise leave the pictures without any sense of connection to one another.
I feel that people are worth even more words than pictures or even comics. People are a crazy concoction of pictures, words, and things that could never be properly conveyed with words:
The outside they show,
The thoughts that they voice;
The the things that they hide,
The memories inside,
The choices they make,
The actions they take,
The things that they feel;
Everything within their hearts,
The things that make them real.
So if a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a person -- thoughts, memories, words, emotions, actions, images, *hearts* -- worth?
Answer: A LOT D:
DeleteHahahah, anyways, I loved how you put it, and you know what? I was thinking the same thing! Just recently I was trying to explain a cool picture to my mom, and she just stared at me and said, "Em, Id have to SEE it. You talking is just making me confused." Well, I'm a talker, so that kinda hurt my feelings, but at the same time it made me realize the same point that you came to: a picture can definetely be worth MORe than a thousand words, and have you even seen a thousand words? Because in all honesty, a thousand isn't very many words.
Ok, so you're probably wondering "Emily, what are you DOING posting at midnight???" but the thing is that I can't sleep right now. Recently I've felt the urge to take a lot of pictures of things around me, and I've just realized that one of the "things" I care about is about to be gone, so don't be surprised if I'm pretty sad for a while.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a poem about it, so here you go:
Goodbye Friend
Companion and a partner
You always were a friend
...ok, so my phone won't let me copy paste it, and this is pretty long, so I'll just post it later.
Goodbye Friend
DeleteCompanion and a partner
You always were a friend
But now that this is happening
It's gotta come to an end
So many good times we spent
Yeah, just us two
And now the doctors say you're sick, truly very ill
What am I supposed to do, friend
I can't help you
I would if I could, but I truly can't
There's nothing I can do
I close my eyes when I hear their words
That there isn't a point anymore
And that you're suffering on the inside
That you're rotting at the core
But your face is already disfigured, friend
Your drool now down your neck
One of your eyes is completely swollen
And you always have to hack
Just yesterday you had trouble walking
And your head just seemed to twitch
And I'm starting to realize as I sit here gawking
What I had seemed to miss
You're suffering, friend, in misery, at your breaking point
Your bones right under your tight-pulled skin
So thin with tiny joints
And looking at you while writing this, I understand our families choice
You're going to the doctor tomorrow, friend, and you're not coming back
You're going to go into a deep sleep
And you'll be at no more lack
I want to cry so bad, and I know I eventually will
But right now I just can't seem too
My eyes just will not fill
I can't do it, friend
Not in front of you
Because even now you still love me
I know you always do
Goodbye.
Photography, while an art with which I am largely unfamiliar, is unique in its own essence. It is an art that adjures no conjecture or limitations by which it is judged. The grand scope that photography provides opens up the possibilities of a single photograph's interpretation. Not only can one perceive abstract insights for which a photograph was snapped, but also the disposition of the artist toward the idea, subject, etc. The photographer is always present in the picture in a way that the narrator is also present in writing. In this sense, an artist tells much more than a thousand words; the limitations to the written word proves subordinate to the power and openness of a captured photo.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this opportunity to share in the excitement of your passion, Mr. Allen.
I am a very passionate photographer. i will sit outside for hours in the rain, snow, and heat just to get that ONE perfect shot. In my family, nobody is into photography, so when i show them one of my photos, they were amazed. It made me feel good because I felt like i had showed a different side to something. I just recently took a photography class and i am so happy. I learned way more and i am soo excited to play around in the forest by my house(: YAY!!
ReplyDelete