Hello again! This time from the other side of a much-needed 12-hour night’s rest. I am currently uncharacteristically sipping on my third cup of coffee. Already regretting the caffeine induced bodily restlessness I am soon to experience. Nevertheless I am here to talk to you about my recent ‘And the camera was there…’ project. Yes, that’s what I’m calling it. If you have no clue what I am talking about, I suggest you first read my story from the day before yesterday and then yesterday’s story, which also harbours al the photos.
Now, about that project; what did I do and why?
Put simply, I carried a camera with me through the day and photographed almost everything I came across. It was not a special day and I saw no special things. Which means I merely shot photos of all the stages I go through on a regular Friday. You see me waking up for my first cup of coffee, you see me brushing my teeth, going to work, doing grocery shopping, do some work in the afternoon while sipping on a Heineken and cooking a meal. It’s all very mundane and very boring. Hardly worth it to take photos off. I say ’hardly’ because despite all this apparent mundanity, I did end up documenting a few moments I’m glad I now have visual reminders off. Some of these images are even quite good and I would not have taken those photos if I didn’t make a point of bringing my camera and actively keeping myself in a ‘picture taking mindset’.
Despite that, it was never the point to produce ‘good’ photographs. Instead it was more about capturing what is now a regular day for me and providing my future self with visual reminders of all the elements that are a part of my present life. The type of bike I ride, what my workplace looks like, how the cats look and behave, the type of beer I drink. All that ordinary stuff that gives my life its colours. In the process pushing me to be a better observer and a better judge on what’s worth capturing and what’s not. Basically just becoming better at being a documentarian.
I have collected all images under the ‘personal work’ category in my archive with the date of capturing, indicating I plan to do this thing again in the future. Perhaps I will increase the challenge by shooting in color, or using a larger camera than the pocketable XF10 I did this time (do I hear the X100V hollering for attention?). We’ll see when I feel like giving it another go. I did enjoy keeping it simple this time, allowing me to actually do it, rather than just thinking of it. Keeping the barriers low and the project light-weight really helps turning words into action. But let’s save those thoughts for another time. This third cup of coffee in me is telling me to put an end to this.
Please have a look at the most boring photography project you have ever seen and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, thanks in advance for looking. Thank you.