My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life

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December 5, 2010
24 Comment

“Why Is a Picture of Something Real Eventually More Exciting than the Thing Itself?”

Jamaica kincaid

“Why is a picture of something real eventually more exciting than the thing itself?”
– Jamaica Kincaid

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  • http://nomorefrump.blogspot.com Anne Marie Petersen

    I believe it is because the picture opens up the mind to imagination. It offers a perspective from each person who views it. Then, when said object, person, or place is before us, it’s no longer creative. It’s just real.

  • The Contrarian

    Is it really? Maybe the thing is more exciting than the picture? Is it possible Jamaica Kincaid is flat out wrong, or perhaps this is only her very odd experience and doesn’t reflect the majority? Or maybe I’m wrong? I’m often wrong, but never in doubt. ;-)

  • Peter G. James Sinclair

    I’ve only ever heard that a picture paints a thousand words…..never have I heard that something real paints anything…obviously not artistic. Or could it be that I have drawn this conclusion!

  • Gareth

    There could be several reasons.
    You used the word eventually. This means that time has passed and the picture is all that remains.
    The picture can also triger other memories, both good and bad.
    The picture represents the point of view of the photographer which is likely to differ from the viewer.
    The photo gives an opportunity to look at detail one does not see during a live event.

    • Kathybezy

      How about the old time family photos of relatives you never knew…adds flesh and personality to them, and even a tiny glimpse of life in the olden days….our family history. We have a tin type of Great great great grandparents in front of their log cabin sitting on straight back chairs with a tall weed growing by the front door. I love it because I know that 8 kids were born there.

  • Amy

    It’s the excitement of catching that moment and forever memorializing it – never to be faded or tainted by memory’s lack.

  • Ann Short

    I’m not sure I agree with that. I was in Connecticut in October and took pictures of the trees as the leaves were changing color. I’ve seen pictures, paintings and even movies of that area and nothing compared with the breathtaking beauty of seeing it in real time. It just can’t be captured.
    I’m not sure I understand your concept.

  • http://www.mind-meditations.com Rachel

    Interesting quotation. Is it referring to how what we think will make us happy often doesn’t? As an example, college students often think about how exciting it will be to finally graduate and get a job; then, when they are out in the working world, they find it isn’t as exciting as they thought it would be. Or some women have a fantasy about motherhood, and then find a baby to be more work than they imagined. Of course, a job and children can certainly be fulfilling, but our expectations aren’t always realistic: the picture (or fantasy) can be more exciting than the thing itself. There are a lot of examples of this in life. (The psychological research shows that we are very poor at predicting what will make us happy.)

    • gretchenrubin

      One of the reasons I like this quotation is that it’s so thought-provoking.
      From the comments here, you can see that people approach it from very
      different perspectives.

  • Kathy

    Pictures never come close, for me, to matching the actual moment. The picture preserves it, sure, but (no pun intended) only flatly. Especially when the picture is of people. The real person is always better than the picture of the real person. As someone who never looks good in a photo, I hope I’m more colorful and better looking in real life.

  • Greg- Enso Creative

    I think what happens for many is that the picture becomes an idealized persona, event, or location without any flaws or difficulties that would have been associated with the person or place at the time. Time burns off those challenges and so for whatever reason, at a psychological level, we choose to remember only the best or most exciting aspect of him/her/it. We are in essence projecting that ideal upon the photo. Now as to WHY that happens, I’ll leave that to others…

  • Dino

    A picture includes hope. The real thing provides realisation.

  • AJW09

    …because you can share it with friends, later, into the future?

    I’m not in with this… I actually believe that REAL is better.

  • Jenni

    I’m going to disagree with this comment as well. I went to Haiti for the first time in May 2010, and there isn’t a picture that I’ve seen that truly depicts the experience of Haiti. I love my pictures because they evoke some wonderful/sad/hopeful/etc. memories, but the pictures have yet to make me feel the same as I did when I took the picture. Maybe time will tell, but I find that photographs never seem to quite capture the experience of actually being there!

    • gretchenrubin

      What about a picture of an apple? Or a street? I think there is a special
      power of photography — to focus attention, to capture interest. Maybe not
      of experiences, but of objects.

  • Alana in Canada

    The real is subjective: the picture is more objective. The real is easily forgotten, the picture commemorates. But I’m not sure the picture is more exciting.

  • Jeannine

    Several years ago when my children were still in grade school, I came across an article that suggested I stop trying to document everything through pictures of things my girls were doing, and just experience what they were doing (band concert solos, soccer kicks, opening birthday presents, etc.). I was actually there, in the moment with them, not hiding behind a camera waiting for the perfect shot. As you have said, “the days are long, but the years are short.”

    • gretchenrubin

      I think this is true — but it’s also true that photos help prompt memories
      in the future. So I try to think of a balance of being in the moment and
      making a memento for later. I have found that I remember events where I took
      photos much better than events where I didn’t. The intensity of the present
      experience often needs a boost — at least for me.

    • http://soggydayblog.blogspot.com/ Lisa

      This captures my thoughts really well. With my kids, I always feel there’s a choice to be made between documenting the experience and being part of it and I always try to err on the side of experience.

  • http://big-zen.blogspot.com/ Big Zen

    An interesting thought. I think it depends how you take this comment. Exciting events I think are generally more exciting in real-life than in than a picture.

    But, as a form of art, a picture can make something ordinary become exciting just like a painting can make the mudane beautiful.

  • http://www.articledepot.co.uk/pending-article-326111.html Poker Training

    I disagree…However, pictures are an excellent way to reflect and relive events down the road once they may have escaped your memory. Pictures are a great way to look back and remember things!

    ryan

  • http://livingthebalancedlife.com Bernice Wood

    I know I have been to so many events where somebody is trying to *document* by taking photos, but they are totally interupting the actual festivities of the event! Just enjoy it and stop making everyone pose for another picture!
    Bernice
    http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2010/waiting-for-perfect/

  • Carren Jao

    Great question! It’s been lurking in my mind as well. I think it’s because of two things: 1) in a photo, one is limited in view but unlimited in imagination. We can basically add in whatever we want outside the frame. 2) a photo has the power to stop us even for a moment and consider what’s in the frame thus emphasizing what most of us are too busy to stop and consider.

  • Jeannine

    I agree that pictures help capture those memories, and I am not suggesting we stop taking pictures. What I found was that my friends/family were giving me pictures of my girls in those “at the moment” times, and I could just actually watch and be with them when things were happening. I could in turn, take pics of their kids, from a point of view they might not have.

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