#66: When Does One Stop Taking Pictures? (Honeymooning, Part I)
Back from my honeymoon, full of love, and still feeling struck by a small encounter with an aging artist
Currently listening to: Late ‘90s / Early ‘00s Japanese Ambient Techno and Electronica Mix by Various Artists
Hello, friend.
I’m stateside again, back from 2 blissful weeks of wandering through the Italian boot alongside my beloved.
It was an inundating experience—we were voracious observers, eager to let the history and beauty of that country wash over us.
When our journey had ended, I reviewed my phone’s camera roll and marveled at the number of photos and videos I captured—approximately 1500 of them.
I marveled not at the number of images, but the fact that they represented such a small sampling of moments from our 330+ hours spent abroad. Christine and I had both made a conscious effort to be present, building memories with our eyes first and our cameras second.
Still, nearly every day, we gleefully sent batches of photos to our parents via WhatsApp so they could live vicariously. All the while, we ourselves looked forward to the moments in the evenings when we would browse through the photos of the day, already eager to relive, to remember.
Our photographic habit wasn’t unique, of course—everywhere we went, we saw fellow tourists and locals alike snapping shots of beautiful sunsets, ancient architecture, and Aperol spritzes.
We were somewhere in Rome—maybe sitting at a cafe in the Piazza Navona?—when a mundane sight captivated me.
An elderly man shuffled slowly into my vision and then raised his shaky arms to take a picture with a digital camera. He appeared frail and quite advanced in age, but as he dropped his arms back down to take in the view he had just photographed, I saw his mouth widen into a childish grin. He disappeared back into the throng of people ambling around.
I felt a slight twist in my stomach as I suddenly found myself wondering: when was he going to look back at those photos?
I withdrew into my thoughts then, puzzling over these questions: when (at what age) does one stop taking pictures? Why does one take pictures at all?
The man looked as if he could’ve been on a farewell bucket-list trip, a last walkabout. Of course, some people just look old and it wasn’t entirely fair of me to assume he was any closer to the grave then I could be.
Still, I thought about all the time I had spent perusing my own travel photos and noted how I seemingly had decades of time ahead of me to revisit them. This man would likely have very few opportunities remaining. Yet, he clicked away at his camera anyway.
I came out of that zone of thought with a few conclusions.
First, I acknowledged that taking photographs is not always about viewing them later as visual aids for reliving memories. To me, the present act of capturing the image can be, in itself, an aid for memory, much in the way that writing notes during a lecture aids retention. Regardless of memory, there is a present joy in the act of taking pictures—framing up the shot, seeing some sight through a new lens, and knowingly capturing it. It feels easy to overuse the word “capture” in the context of photography, but I think it’s a marvelous word that perfectly describes the act of claiming and taking away your own point of view.
Second, I acknowledged that photography is, in many ways, an act of pure appreciation as much as it is an act of creation. There were so many beautiful things, places, and people in Italy, all deserving of being photographed. It almost feels necessary to take pictures as you observe it all (regardless of the final output), like the act alone is you offering some small token of your appreciation that all this beauty exists in the world. I assume age has no ability to affect this compulsion.
Finally, I acknowledged that age does not create an expiration date for one’s artistic tendencies. Many people go on making things right up until the very end of their lives. Paintings are left unfinished, scrawled manuscripts are left behind, and photo albums are left compiled but waiting to be shared. Just because one may not have much time left ahead of them to indulge in their camera roll, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t document the home stretch of their life for the fun of it. And if anything, that period of life, I would assume, is a time when one’s art practices matter all the more—even now in my late 20s, I occasionally fret over what I might be leaving behind when I go.
I hope that, if that old photographer is no longer with us in 10 years, someone will see his photos of his trip to Rome. And, like the ancient Roman frescoes still adorning the floors of their fora 2000 years later, the man’s pictures will speak for him to say: I was here.
The Spooky Music List
Hello again, friend, and happy Halloween! I hope you enjoyed today’s letter and the photos—I certainly enjoyed my trip and reliving little moments of it while writing to you today.
I’ve been quite out of the music loop since I’ve been away, so please allow me to spend a little time catching up with the music before I provide some additional words. Still, I have a large chunk of new and recent releases on my radar highlighted below.
Note: Most of these releases aren’t actually spooky, but if you are looking for some music that will legitimately frighten you, try #1 on the All Genres list. On the other hand, #3 in Ambient is a more calm and pleasant dose of slight unease.
Happy listening!
Ambient
Dream Journal by Ship Says Om (album / ambient folk, field recordings) [Independent]^
Let One Bird Sing by David Cordero & Anthéne (album / drone, meditative) [whitelabrecs]^
Mirror at Night by Eric Angelo Bessel (album / drone, dark ambient) [Lore City Music]^
a little death by
(album / sound collage, experimental) [Thrill Jockey Records]Cloud Time by Emily A. Sprague (album / minimalist, electronic) [RVNG Intl.]
A Fragile Geography: Reworks by Rafael Anton Irisarri (album / drone, field recordings) [Black Knoll Editions]
Vanities by Malibu (album / vocal ambient, meditative) [YEAR0001]
Aurelia by Boozoo Bajou (album / electronic, meditative) [Pilotton]
Æternum by Penelope Trappes (album / dark ambient, vocal ambient) [One Little Independent Records]
Where to From by Hildur Guðnadóttir (album / classical crossover) [Deutsche Grammophon GmbH]
All Genres
Langue of Tongue by Lénok (album / experimental, uh… I have no fucking idea what this is) [Mappa]
Ye be warned. Seriously.
1979 by µ-Ziq (album / electronic) [Balmat]
In the Earth Again by Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo (album / death metal, Americana) [Computer students / Modulor]
Son Of Spergy by Daniel Caesar (album / R&B/soul) [Republic Records]
Everybody Scream by Florence + the Machine (album / alternative) [Polydor Records / Republic Records]
LIFE BALANCE + by Obsimo (album / electronic) [Independent]
Music List Reminders: Bold and ^ denote reader-submitted work. Bandcamp links provided first when available—if an album is not on Bandcamp, YouTube or other streaming links are provided. List format: Title by Artist (release type / approximate genre or subgenres) [Label].
That’s all for this week’s issue. Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Your friend,
Melted Form
Remember to listen to the hum, buzz, & hiss of the world around you—there is music to be heard there.
Read the previous issue of The Living Music List:
Afterword—Let’s Get In Touch
Are you an artist, a label owner, or a member of the press? Want to share an in-depth feature of your upcoming release, an advertisement, or a guest post for a future Hum, Buzz, & Hiss issue? Get in touch with me at meltedform@gmail.com or join our Discord Community. As always, I would love to hear and recommend your music, especially if it’s new and ambient/electronic/experimental.
Looks like a wonderful trip!
Someone I can relate to doing music and photography... I've got to get back to Italy!
And congrats on the honeymoon.