One Hour Photo was released in in 2002 and I saw it in theaters as a requirement for my photography class in art college. We didn’t spend much time discussing it but I am forever grateful to that instructor for getting me into the theater to see it. I became inspired by it, including the early flash website. Snippets from the soundtrack played as you clicked on various photos and multimedia objects in a timeline. This is the eerie one that stood out to me the most.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word snapshot was first used in 1808 by an English sportsman by the name of Sir Andrew Hawker. He noted in his diary that almost every bird he shot that day was taken by snapshot…meaning a hurried shot taken without deliberate aim. Snapshot, then…was originally a hunting term.
One Hour Photo (2002), written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams.
As an introvert, I enjoy the force field that the camera builds around me. People are afraid they will interfere and ruin and my photo. It is funny to see them bop their heads down or dodge sharply side to side. With smart phones pointing every direction, I’m the same way. I hope I look good in all the photos I’ve accidentally ended up in. You know I’ve got your back!
With a camera around your neck, you aren’t expected to interact at events. You hang back and observe. I enjoy it and never feel left out. I’m never bored. With my camera I’m free to explore and create my own world with that lens. I feel the weight of the camera on my neck and in my core, grounding me and slowing my anxiety so I can lift my gaze and see people. But sometimes I wonder if I should take down that shield of protection and be vulnerable.
My photography courses allowed us the freedom to explore our own interests and mine were urban and rural landscapes, nature, abstract…anything but people. It likely reflected the tucking into myself that was beginning to happen. Now, I am letting myself unravel and explore. Street photography lead me to watching the people more than the cherry blossom trees. Then I had the opportunity to bring my dslr camera to a Kevin Devine show. And I would like university aged me, the one who is old enough to have studied in the darkroom, to see me now. People don’t scare me anymore.
I’m writing this to announce that…I’m here. I have arrived. Late, but I arrived.
This website is slowly piecing itself back together while I make peace with that. It has been a long time!