ThirstyFish

I prefer this black and white rendition over yesterday's color version. Thanks to the mixed light, it almost has an infrared feel to it.

The first photograph of a person was taken in Boulevard du Temple, Paris, in 1838. At the end of the 20th century, just in the year 2000, it is estimated that approximately 86 Billion photographs were taken. Since the advent of digital photography in the new century, photography has become mainstream, documenting every aspect of our lives. It is estimated that we will take nearly 400 billion photos in the year 2012. A vast majority of these photos will be taken on our cell phones, as mementos.

It is not unimaginable that in a matter of a few decades, we will walk around with very compact, high resolution recording devices and record every moment of our lives. This will, in a way, make us immortal. As our written journals have provided for in the past, our recorded lives, would be retrieved by our curious great great great grandchildren. Most of our descendants will find out that the majority of us have lived meaningless, uninteresting lives. Or maybe, they will realize this and will not waste any time studying our lives. With the exception of a few, these recordings will be just a waste. After all, how many photos on Facebook, of Flickr are truly interesting? Most are not.

Philosophers have asked whether existence precedes essence, or, essence precedes existence. These are difficult concepts to grasp. Maybe the most significant question is, as photographer Galen Rowell phrased it, which life experiences are the most worth living? Should we be recording every aspect of our lives, or, as we had done in the past with our journals, filter our experiences, organize them, and present only the meaningful ones among them? Once again, that haunting question pops up; What is truly meaningful?

Song of the Day: Soldier Of Fortune - Whitesnake (1997)