Does photographing a moment steal the experience from you? | Erin Sullivan — Transcript

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1. 0:00Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez
2. 0:13What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
3. 0:17And when you were there, did you take a picture of it?
4. 0:21Here's a place that tops that list for me.
5. 0:23This is Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park in Utah
6. 0:27at sunrise.
7. 0:28It's the traditional homeland of the Pueblo, Ute,
8. 0:31Paiute and Navajo people,
9. 0:33and when you are there,
10. 0:34it is absolutely stunning.
11. 0:36The sunrise illuminates the bottom of the arch orange,
12. 0:39and then behind it you see the buttes and clouds and cliffs.
13. 0:43But what you might not see from my photo here
14. 0:46is the 30 people behind me who were also taking photos.
15. 0:49And these are just the committed people, the sunrise people, right?
16. 0:52So when you think about that,
17. 0:54there must be hundreds if not thousands of photos of Mesa Arch taken every week.
18. 0:59I've been sharing my photography on Instagram for years,
19. 1:03and it started to become really interesting and funny, even,
20. 1:07just how many similar photos of the same places
21. 1:11I started to see online.
22. 1:13And I was participating in it.
23. 1:15So this made me wonder:
24. 1:17Why are we taking photos in the first place?
25. 1:20Sometimes, I visit a popular landmark --
26. 1:23this one is Horseshoe Bend in Arizona --
27. 1:26and I see all the people with their phones and cameras out
28. 1:28who snap a photo,
29. 1:30just to turn and get back in the car or walk back to the trailhead.
30. 1:33And sometimes it seems like we are missing the point
31. 1:37of going to this place to experience it for ourselves
32. 1:41or to see it with our own eyes.
33. 1:44When I'm behind the camera,
34. 1:46I notice the smallest details:
35. 1:49the layers of light in the mountains
36. 1:51as the light fades at the end of the day;
37. 1:54the shapes that nature so expertly makes,
38. 1:57abstract and yet completely perfect.
39. 2:00I could go on and on here musing about the intricacies of this planet
40. 2:04and the way that it makes me feel.
41. 2:07Photographing the beauty and complexity of this world
42. 2:10for me is like making a portrait of someone that I love.
43. 2:14And when I make a photograph,
44. 2:15I have to think about what I want it to say.
45. 2:18I have to ask myself what I want it to feel like.
46. 2:21When you're communicating through an image,
47. 2:24every creative choice matters.
48. 2:25Sometimes, I plan to share my images,
49. 2:27and other times, I take them just for myself.
50. 2:30I currently host a video series on the future of the outdoors,
51. 2:33and for one of the episodes we wanted to explore
52. 2:36the relationship between photography and outdoor spaces.
53. 2:39I learned about the research of Kristin Diehl
54. 2:42and her colleagues at USC,
55. 2:43who studied photo-taking's effect on enjoyment levels.
56. 2:46They found that when we're behind the camera,
57. 2:49when we're the ones taking the picture,
58. 2:51we enjoy our experiences more, not less.
59. 2:53But it wasn't true all the time.
60. 2:55If the person took the photo solely with the intention of sharing it,
61. 2:59there was no increase in enjoyment,
62. 3:00because they didn't do it for themselves.
63. 3:03So this points to an important distinction:
64. 3:05photography can enhance your experience
65. 3:07if it's done intentionally.
66. 3:09The intention piece is what matters.
67. 3:12As a photographer, I've really had to check myself on this.
68. 3:15When does it help me to have my camera out,
69. 3:18and when do I just need to put it away?
70. 3:20On a trip to Alaska, I had the opportunity to photograph Alaskan brown bears.
71. 3:25I was on a boat with four other photographers,
72. 3:27and we were all having our minds blown
73. 3:30at the same time
74. 3:31in such close proximity to these animals.
75. 3:34It's an emotional experience.
76. 3:36Being eye to eye with these bears gave me a feeling of connection
77. 3:39that transcends words,
78. 3:41and having my camera with me in this case enhanced that.
79. 3:45We were all creating independently but also all completely in the moment,
80. 3:49both with nature and with each other.
81. 3:51I so clearly remember
82. 3:52capturing the water droplets and the motion as the bears swam
83. 3:56and the cute cubs following their mothers.
84. 3:59That group and I will have that experience together
85. 4:02and these images to look back on
86. 4:04time and time again,
87. 4:05and photography is what enabled us to share this in the first place.
88. 4:10Other times, I choose to leave the camera behind,
89. 4:12and I think that choice ultimately improves both my experience
90. 4:16and my work.
91. 4:18I recently flew to the South Pacific island of Tonga
92. 4:21to swim with humpback whales.
93. 4:23I noticed myself feeling pressure
94. 4:26and a certain obligation to take the camera with me,
95. 4:29when sometimes I just wanted the pure experience itself.
96. 4:32And the experience is seriously amazing.
97. 4:34You're talking about being in the water
98. 4:36with a curious baby animal the size of a station wagon
99. 4:39while you are surrounded by particles that float around you like glitter,
100. 4:43and the mom swims gracefully below you.
101. 4:46There were times, obviously, when I did take my camera with me,
102. 4:49and those were really amazing to capture as well.
103. 4:52But the setup is pretty big.
104. 4:54It's like this big box. This is what it looks like.
105. 4:56And so this is between me and the whales,
106. 4:58and at times that feels like a block between you and reality.
107. 5:02Is there a difference when it's just your phone?
108. 5:05Last year, I went to Uluru in Central Australia,
109. 5:07which is this massive rock that towers over the desert.
110. 5:11This is sacred land to Anangu,
111. 5:14who are the Aboriginal people from this area
112. 5:16and the traditional owners of the land.
113. 5:19There are particular spots in Uluru that you cannot photograph professionally,
114. 5:23because they are culturally sensitive,
115. 5:26equivalent to sacred scripture to Anangu.
116. 5:29So because of this, most of my photographs are from either far away, like this one,
117. 5:34or from specific angles in the park.
118. 5:36You could say that some of the most interesting and beautiful visuals in Uluru
119. 5:41are located in these sensitive areas,
120. 5:43but the request not to photograph them is an explicit and direct invitation
121. 5:49to learn more about the land, its importance and its people.
122. 5:53Isn't that what we should be doing anyway?
123. 5:55So my visit to Uluru quickly became not about me
124. 5:58but about connecting with the place.
125. 6:02Ironically and unsurprisingly,
126. 6:04I have found that presence and connection
127. 6:06also happens to make for more compelling images.
128. 6:10We can probably all point to social media
129. 6:12as being a good place to share the images from our travels and from our lives.
130. 6:17We not only share pieces of the world that we have seen
131. 6:20but also parts of our day-to-day experiences.
132. 6:22And if we're applying intentionality to the photos we take,
133. 6:26then hopefully we're sharing intentionally too.
134. 6:30For me, allowing people to see pieces of my story and my perspective online
135. 6:35has reminded me that I'm not alone.
136. 6:38It's helped me build support and community
137. 6:40to do the same for others.
138. 6:43Let me be clear:
139. 6:44I am not trying to discourage you from taking photos.
140. 6:48Even if thousands of people have been to whatever exact location
141. 6:52and taken whatever exact photo,
142. 6:54I encourage you to get out and create too.
143. 6:56The world needs every voice and perspective,
144. 6:59and yours is included.
145. 7:01But what I'm trying to show you is that the phone or camera
146. 7:04doesn't have to stay out all the time.
147. 7:07What I'm trying to encourage you to do
148. 7:09is to put it away, just for a moment --
149. 7:11a moment for you.
150. 7:13So let's go back to Mesa Arch,
151. 7:15the way that the rock glows orange
152. 7:17and the lovely layers of blue in the background.
153. 7:21What if the next time you were somewhere amazing,
154. 7:24you couldn't bring your camera or phone?
155. 7:27What if you were not allowed to take any pictures at all?
156. 7:31Would it feel like a limitation?
157. 7:33Or would it feel like a relief?
158. 7:36So what can we do?
159. 7:38Well, the next time you feel the impulse to take out your camera or phone,
160. 7:42or, in my case, once you realize you have already pulled it out --
161. 7:45(Laughter)
162. 7:46First: stop.
163. 7:48Pause.
164. 7:49Take a deep breath.
165. 7:52Look around. What do you notice?
166. 7:56Are you experiencing this moment with someone else?
167. 7:59Remember that this moment only comes once.
168. 8:02Photography can be part of a beautiful experience.
169. 8:05Just don't let it be a block between you and reality.
170. 8:08Be intentional,
171. 8:09and don't lose a beautiful, irreplaceable memory,
172. 8:13because you were too focused on getting the shot.
173. 8:16Thank you.
174. 8:17(Applause)