Before my first extended trip, to Central America, I hadn’t even thought of taking a camera. Fortunately, one was gifted to me, and I learned the value of taking photos. Now, I always take a camera when I travel. I take a lot of photos, as I’m sure my travel companions could attest to.

It might be unthinkable in the age of social media to go on a trip without taking photos. Yet, I genuinely respect anyone who doesn’t and, instead, focuses on the experience – I see that as living in the moment. I think it’s vitally important to find a balance between capturing the moment with a photograph, and enjoying the moment for what it is. Sometimes, I have to remind myself of that.

Why I take a camera

I take photos in various scenarios: when I want to capture a view; of landscape or architecture; when I encounter animals; or of people I’m spending quality time with. Admittedly, I also challenge myself to take a decent photo, though I have no knowledge or qualification in photography.

The main reason I take photos is for memories. Looking through my photo albums allow me to reminisce about a trip and remind myself of all the moments that made it great. Photos help make the memories more vivid and reignite the feelings I had when travelling.

For the memories

In my mind, photos cannot replicate or act as a substitute for travel. They can be used to inspire, and to conjure strong emotions, particularly if they invoke powerful memories. On this website, and on social media, I share what I think are my best photos. I do so in the hope that they will be appreciate by other people.

But I have many more photos that I keep to myself, as reminders of the moments that are special to me. For example, on a road trip I will make many stops at the roadside to take a snap of the view, or from the passenger seat if someone else is driving. These photos may not be of the quality to share or publish; they remind me of the scenery and the feelings of joy I had.

People and photos

The same can be said for photos of people – friends, family, fellow travellers. You won’t see many photos of people on this website or my social media pages, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the people I meet along the way.

I like to take photos of people I’ve met on my travels and connected with. Again, it helps to remember time I’ve spent with them, from the simplest interactions, funny times, inspiring moments, and people who I have become close to. When I am away from family and friends, connections I’ve made when travelling have been very meaningful – they made my experience even more special. The photos remind me of those connections long after the event.

To be or not to be… in the photo

Most of my photos of landscapes are without people in – not even myself – but when I once told someone that, they told me they thought photos without people in are impersonal. I don’t agree, as my photos are for my memories, which make them very personal to me. And I want to capture the view I had at the time, what my eyes saw, unobstructed, to help take me back there – with the focus on the scenery itself.

That’s not to say I judge people who have photos of themselves in most of their photos (even if they are blocking a much nicer view). If you want to see yourself in foreground of an amazing backdrop, I can understand how a portrait is more meaningful to you. I also understand that people can give a photo perspective, as it highlights the size, the colour, or the beauty of the scenery behind.

Social media

I love looking at photos of travel, nature, and wildlife on social media. A quick scroll, once or twice a week, cheers me up, reminds me of why I love to travel, and inspires me to keep travelling. I also share photos I have taken, for many reasons, including to show off the imagery I have appreciated most. It is also because, if I am honest and transparent, in part, to receive praise for photos I have taken. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, in fact, the entire creative industry relies on people exhibiting their own makings. As with everything in life, there is a balance to be found with sharing photos on social media.

For instance, I can’t relate to certain photos I have seen on social media all too often. The photos I have in mind are of people positioning themselves in complex yoga poses in precarious, if beautiful, locations – on top of a mountain, perhaps. These perfectly framed photos appear to show the subject in a zen-like meditative state.

Meditation is supposed to be calming. But the focus and concentration required to take such a photo, to make it aesthetically pleasing as possible, and worrying about how many ‘likes’ it will receive on social media, is anything but relaxing. So, this practice seems to defeat the act of meditation. Besides, I have never seen anyone doing yoga on top of a steep mountaintop on a hike, for obvious health and safety reasons.

I believe hiking and travelling are forms of meditation, so I understand the association with yoga and mindfulness. I think the contradiction within these photos bothers me because I value hiking, nature, as well as yoga, separately and independently of each other. I find these photos are cynical attempts to portray an unnecessary association. Moreover, given the frequency of these types of photos on social media now, they are unoriginal.

Now my rant is over, my main point is that we can be sensible about what we share on social media. I encourage people to share photos – beautiful, funny, or meaningful – and don’t worry too much about what people say, or how many people ‘like’ it. I think an obsession with creating a photo for social media contributes to a disconnection between why we set out to travel – to appreciate it for ourselves.

At peace

I want to end this piece by emphasising the main benefits of travelling for me – a break from society, busy urban environments, and a rigid, formal schedule with the demands and pressure of work. Travel takes me to beautiful and tranquil places – I can live in the moment, create wonderful memories, be at peace, and enjoy myself.

There have been times where I have reached for my camera too often, hoping to take the ‘perfect’ picture. It distracted me from the moment. It then took a conscious effort on my part to focus my mind, to remind myself while I travelled in the first place, and to enjoy my surroundings.

Taking photos is a fun way to show appreciation for wonderful scenery and create visual memories. I love going through photos of my adventures, relieving them as I do. I think the accessibility of digital photography is a positive, when balanced with the approach to concentrate on enjoying the trip in of itself. Our photos take us back to those places, the places themselves are what we remember. So, when you are in a special place, I recommend you put your camera away for a while, and live the moment.