I am convinced that digital photography is ruining the travel experience for many travellers. They are blindly snapping away and not taking in what they are looking at. Whilst on a bus tour in Lyon in France a few weeks ago a man in the seat in front of me was taking photos in every direction in a frenzy. It was as if he had a neurological disorder-his whole body twitching as he snapped left, right and centre. He took in nothing of what he was photographing. He was taking photos for the sake of taking photos.
I first really noticed this frenzied indiscriminate snapping in Strasbourg Cathedral in France last year but now I see it everywhere I travel. There I was in one of the great medieval buildings of Europe and I was surrounded by people who were not seeing the magnificence of the building. Some of the greatest buildings of Europe photographed but unseen by the multitudes.
Why go to a museum and then spend the whole time photographing the exhibits? Hooray to the museums such as the Guggenheim and the Frick Collection in New York who have banned photography. It makes it so much more comfortable for those of us who want to look at the exhibits and take them in. It is not a laughing matter-people really are missing out on a critical part of the travel experience.
They are not observing and taking in what they came to see. You may have already have seen the two photos below β both taken from the same spot in St Peters,Rome but 8 years apart.
The first at the investiture of Pope Benedict and the second this year at the investiture of Pope Francis. What a difference. Why did all those snappers in wait so patiently to see the Pope and then just take a photo? Would they have not been better to have stayed at home and seen the Pope onTV? They missed seeing him in reality. I went to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney and I was fortunate to have a seat very close to where the Olympic flame was lit but my Leica stayed in my bag.
