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Thursday 5 March 2015

Photos



Aeons ago a friend insisted that photos fail to bring back life's experiences. He gave it as his reason for not having and not wanting a camera. Photos he said, trigger memories which are not the original experience, but a new synthetic memory framed by the photo itself.

Above is a photo of the Dove valley taken on a recent walk. We'd climbed the hill and trundled through inches of farmyard mud to reach the hillside where we sat for a moment to drink it all in. We drank some tea too, but that wasn't why we lingered.

I think my photophobic friend was at least partly right. The whole experience, blue sky, delightful views, sense of exhilaration, muddy boots, tea from a flask - cannot be experienced again via the photo. The thing is ephemeral and that's partly what he was saying. The experience now lies in a receding past and the memory will fade, as they do.

Here's another photo from the same spot.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would be quite some photo if it brought back the original experience - perhaps Apple is working on it. The boots look more a 'madeleine' experience.

Demetrius said...

All it needs is an HST line.

Scrobs. said...

There's a fabulous small hotel close to Dovedale, Mr H, and I'm damned if I can remember the name of it, but by God, what a place!

'Bentley Brook'?

When you think that my company used up 75 acres of beautiful scenery near Brailsford, I begin to wonder if the M25, the M20, the M2, all of Kent, most of Sussex, Milton Keynes, etc etc., are really the places where I should be feeling triumphant!

A K Haart said...

Roger - a 'madeleine' experience for you?

Demetrius - but think of the property prices.

Michael - yes it could be the Bentley Brook at Fenny Bentley. The trouble with beautiful scenery is that once it's gone it's gone.