Cameras and Blue Jacket Night

Last night was another Blue Jacket night and another lovely evening of conversation and libation. As long as I have gone to these meetings, which in the scheme of things has not been a long time, there has been a struggle between those who want to document the entire night on film (Chris Meadows) and those who don't want it documented (everyone else, as far as I can tell). Now, Chris has done a lot of good with his camera, and I think everyone acknowledges this about him. Yet, the novelty of having one's picture taken wears off quickly. And as a scientist, Chris wants a full explanation of why the group doesn't want its picture taken. This is where the problem arises. No one really can give a good, full, or meaningful explanation of why picture taking is so off putting. Well, right here on this post I am going to try to explicate these matters in such a way that it will be fully articulated and iron-clad. I want to be clear that the following treatise is not one written against Chris. Truthfully, his picture taking never does more than kindle a mild but good-hearted and sporadic annoyance. What is at heart of the matter is the absence of delineation on the subject. I will attempt to fill this void with the following.

First, picture taking is great for events such as German fest, special family functions, artful purposes, and the like. Claire and I were just discussing these purposes last night. However, taking pictures at a weekly gathering with the same group of people seems to break the intimacy of the atmosphere. This is a place where we go to shed the albatrosses of daily work, school, and home life, a place where we do not have to be "on." But having a picture taken negates this experience. Suddenly we have to interrupt our current engagements in order to present ourselves to the world with courteous, respectable, recognizable, and overly gleeful expressions. In other words, we must switch back "on," and we are left to transition back to a more natural state on our own. By that time, our interactions have been exposed and we are fully aware that we are being watched and documented. There really is no way to be our normal candid selves after this. Even if one pretends that the camera isn't there, it still alters one's actions through the act of pretending. Thus, a wedge is driven between us by the camera, and the amiable closeness we seek from one another is shattered.

Second, the camera does not just drive a wedge between those who are having their picture taken. It also creates a barrier between Chris and us. Many people say that smoking, among other things, is a defense mechanism employed in order to keep others from getting too close. The camera acts in the same way. If Chris is behind the camera, then he is completely removed from the group function. Thus, we start performing separate actions and lose cohesion with him. Chris becomes the seer and we become the visible objects, but the relationship is not reciprocal. The lack of mutual, interdependent communication separates Chris from us and prevents us from getting too close to him.

Finally, the presence of the camera at Blue Jacket Night creates a sense of hyperreality that is unneeded and, ultimately, unwanted. Pictures are used as ways to somehow augment our experience or, in other words, augment our reality by means of better memories of events. Yet, this hyperreality is actually a distortion of the events that actually happened. For example, our Blue Jacket experience becomes less about relating with friends and more about the representations of the relations with our friends, which are the pictures. As soon as the pictures take precedence, our actions cease to be real and become hyperreal or distorted. This distortion alters our entire actuality to the point that our relations never take place as they normally would. From here, the pictures start to signify our experience, when really they mean nothing; just as the cross would mean nothing without Christ's crucifixion.

The above are my reasons for not wanting excessive amounts of pictures taken at Blue Jacket Night. I hope that they were articulate enough. Though they cannot represent the feelings of all participants, I have tried to cover the main arguments. If you have something to add, dispute, or refute, please post a comment. Furthermore, if you have any comments about the nature of photography in general, please make a comment. Finally, what was posted above should not be taken too seriously. I was just toying with some ideas that were brought up by last night's discussion, and I really don't mind Chris taking pictures. The most important part is that I like Blue Jacket Night and I enjoy the company of all who go there. The friendship and camaraderie is invaluable.