Life through a lens

There is a growing danger that we are experiencing less these days. Ok, bear with me on this one. With the invention and growing popularity of digital cameras, internet enabled phones and other gadgetry, how many of us are guilty of spending ages fiddling with settings for the perfect shot or looking up a holiday destination on our iPhone and sticking to all the well documented tourist spots which have turned more English than parts of England for example.

This desire for instant and excellent results seems to be taking us away from the actual sights, sounds and smells of life that we miss through distraction. Gone are the days when you come home from holiday with a bunch of blurry photos and tell everyone exactly what you saw because the picture really doesn’t quite capture the full scene. Quite often people get home, download their photos onto a disc and forget about them, they rarely come out for months after to be shown off to friends and family.

Life in digital has its benefits, that is not being doubted but would it not be better to leave the camera on auto, take one shot and then really experience what you are there to see, whether it be local culture, a party or the zoo. Next time you are searching for a good restaurant, don’t search the internet for a 5 star review, take yourselves off on a drive or walk and see what you find, or speak to the locals, avoid the tourist hotspots and you find the real gems of local cuisine.

Digital is good but it can’t capture feelings.