Is the Camera a Tool or a Barrier while Travelling?

I have loved my camera ever since I got one. A gift from my dad around 5 years back, it is a small Nikon digicam that I still carry and keep handy wherever I go. I have captured innumerable sunrises, sunsets and all those things in between that you may have kindly hearted on my social media - trees, birds, temples, deities, river, people, food, etc. It is my lucky charm you see, my camera, also a great friend, someone who has allowed me to just be (in spite of my many shortcomings, imperfections and flaws while handling it) and do what I have always done best - to stand and stare, observe and to appreciate the beauty that I see all around me. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to share the world in a way I have seen it.

But recently, during my yatras, I have often been hearing comments like this: Why take photographs when God has gifted you eyes? Capture the beauty that you see with your eyes and absorb it in your heart. The camera dissolves your experience. Leave it behind. Leave the photo-taking behind if you really truly want to see the world around you and connect with it more intimately and intensely.

I confess, I mostly agree.

Which leaves me wondering with the question:

Is the Camera Really a Tool or a Barrier while Travelling?

To click, or not to click -
that is the question!

When I am busy taking photographs, say of a spectacular sunset, a part of me, a part of my being, a part of my energy shifts from living the moment in its entirety to holding onto something that I know is fast fleeting by, somehow eager to pocket that fleeting moment in a way I think would be best, most glorious and long lasting.

The real beauty of a moment truly lived lies in feeling the intensity of the moment, with all sincerity, with all the attention, with all our energy and being open to all that is alive, present, free and blooming in front of us. The greatest and only gift we need give to any moment in time to make it striking is our own Presence, the fullness of it because that’s when we have an experience. A real, authentic experience that is unique to call our own. That experience that no one else can replicate simply because it is mixed with colors of our own being… that being which is exclusive and inimitable in the galaxies of time and space.

It is not the camera then that I believe but this attitude, this nonstop chattering in our mind, which says - I am going there with my camera; I want to capture this, I want to bring that back – which is the real barrier.

And therein lies the handicap, the real barrier that is asking to be crossed.

My Self(less)ie!

This leads me to a whole new perspective to the debate and one which resonates with me (the reason why I have still not ditched my camera) - How if we were to carry the camera without the greed, the urge to capture or hunt but just to see, to simply see?

We always have a choice, remember. So what if I made a conscious choice of slowing down a little and cutting down on the 'Click, Save, Repeat' habit? What if I let the moments free - to simply be - to open themselves up as they please rather than me running behind them? Would that make any difference?

The answer to all these questions has been a big resounding yes! I have been consciously cutting down on my picture taking in the last few trips. Acting in this manner, I have realised there is more spontaneity in the whole scene so that now it becomes less of capturing and more of creating ... like a prayer, a meditation... more of seeing rather than seeking, more of flowing rather than holding and that is the golden space where magic happens.

Let that what you love... free
And then, see the magic!

So when I captured the boatman staring out into the Rameshwaram sea, or the boat standing peacefully in Pandharpur or the gorgeously nimble-footed pigeon pecking ever so lightly on my fingers – I framed them not only in the confines of my camera but also in the joys and silences that the experience of seeing and being touched by immaculate beauty outside brings in us, within.

This is not to chest-beat that I have perfected the art of conscious (or any other form of) photographing in any way, far from it actually. On the contrary, what I am trying to say is that I am making an effort to use my camera in a more mindful way since the last couple of months. By filtering those photographs through the editing lens of my feelings, thoughts and emotions, I am trying to take one step closer to what I call an intimate and satisfying form of creative Self expression.

I am beginning to use my camera less as a barrier and more as a significant tool in my yatras – keeping in mind that it's a brush using which I am painting a picture – my picture - a unique story. They say a picture speaks more than a thousand words, I would like to add that a picture silences more than a thousand voices clinging in my head.

Looking at a still photograph simply is a unique experience - it holds the power to transform.

After all, there must be a reason why photographs are called still photographs, what do you think?

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Is the Camera a Tool or a Barrier while Travelling?

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On a side note... all these thoughts of slowing down and using the camera more mindfully has led me to this idea of ‘My Yatra Diary SoulSelfie series’ in an endeavour to continue using my camera in a more mindful and expressive way. I am looking forward to posting one photo each week in my diary from one of my yatras and a few words surrounding that picture – it could be a verse, a quote, a short poem or simply a few random thoughts – anything that helps me see and communicate to the picture and to that moment in the picture in a deeper, meaningful way.

Also, if you believe in the idea and would like to support the series further - I humbly invite you to be a part of the 'soulselfie' or 'soulie' series as well - please feel free to send in your creations to 22arti@gmail.com and I would love to host you in my little corner or come over and join me on Instagram using the hashtag #soulie. I am keen on exploring themes of spirituality, faith, prayer, hope and humanity – basically anything that touches you on a deeper, intimate level other than the material or tangible is welcome.