Stealing the magic

Photography is a livelihood for many, a hobby for some and a consuming passion for a few. Apart from these serious exceptions, photography nowadays has become a mere child’s play, literally, for the mass.

Recently I saw a mere four year old clicking merrily from the parent’s cell phone camera. The young mother gushed that her child got the best pictures always. I restrained my smile, a child prodigy could be in any field!

I remember that many decades ago there used to be a distinct aura about a person handling a camera, which was zealously guarded by him. It was an era when any photo would appear as a shade of black, grey or white. If colour photos were wanted then the original pictures would be artificially coloured effecting an uncanny eerie result. In a world where only change is a constant, black and white made way for colour rolls later followed by the digital revolution.

The digital magic enables the result to be seen instantly. If the result is unsatisfactory, a simple ‘delete’ button settles the issue. The posture can be done to perfection with re-shots and multiple bursts. The self timer is a miracle allowing the complete group picture. This amazingly simple-to-use gadget has made a child out of man.

During celebrations natural inhibitions are given a toss in the zeal to get good shots. If not, the only pictures that any shy amateur like me end up with are the posterior views of the professionals who crowd around the dais unmindful of the guests who may not have a clue as to what is happening centre stage, unless there are CCTVs creating a virtual vision for them.

Coming to the people in focus, many people are camera shy and avert their faces sensing the spotlight. But there are certain sections of the humanity who love the limelight and flashlight on them! Politicians and film stars, for example, do not tire of flashing insincere smiles repeatedly at the blinking cameras.

Alas, I have seen people in serious professions succumbing to the whims of a stray photographer who feels that a photo without a smile is incomplete. As such, one sees pictures of a doctor smiling alongside an operated patient (who may yet succumb to post operative trauma), or a local bigwig sporting a condescending smile at an accident site. Recently a corporator was captured grinning at the camera while serving some eatables to a school child. I could have advised her to smile at the child instead.

But the cake goes to a photo where the man in question was involved in a rescue operation of a child from a bore well. One may think it to be as serious a task as could be. But he was seen flashing a big smile, the child yet deep inside.  I am left wondering as to what seemed even remotely funny or happy to him at that point. ‘Ismile!’ seems to be the norm for a pose, than the exception, even in dismal situations.