The power of a camera

Cameras are a fascinating invention to me.

Back when I was just 6 years old my mum would just hand me a snap camera and would let me run around taking pictures of random things until the film ran out. It was a little ceremony bringing the film to the shop to get it developed and then waiting the next 2 days in anticipation for the outcome of it.

In triumph would I bring the pictures home to spread them out on the breakfast kitchen table to decide which ones where refrigerator worthy. While standing on a kitchen chair I would display my art on adult eye level with magnets on the freezer portion of the fridge holding up at least 6 pictures next to one another. I loved having this freedom as the refrigerator was my display area and everyone that came to our house usually stopped by it sooner or later discussing my "art".

Cameras produce art. They tell stories that can not be put into words. Their product, whether it`s film or pictures can trigger emotion and tell amazing stories.

It was not until way later in my teenage years that I began to see the actual power of the camera itself. At parties and family events I loved catching people in action doing whatever it was they did. I loved the candid shots. It was all about staying unnoticed while creating art.

Observing though, especially through the eyes of a camera people did notice fairly quickly and in an instant their expression would change and they would pose as if someone had shouted out a command to do so.

It was not the art that was important anymore but merely the fact of being seen and acknowledged by the camera itself, the knowing that people around you see you being part of it.

Living in Hollywood for the past couple of years gave me another insight into the camera phenomenon. Just merely walking around with a camera on Hollywood Blvd will make people want to be seen. If you give them just a little time in front of a rolling camera people will talk about things they might never tell you without it.

I guess maybe it is that a camera is the best listener of all.

Yes, in Hollywood a camera might be used to deliver the newest, fake "reality" show to the mass audience of America, but in general there is no other medium that can tell amazing stories like a camera can.

That is exactly why it hurts us so bad when a roll of film gets lost, because we as a society lack the words that can describe the experience of film or pictures.

Art stays important!

Thx, Frieda Online