One of the best inventions of all time in the creative field has been the photo camera. The very first was designed in 1685 by Johann Zahn. But the first photograph was clicked by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in the year 1814. It was thousands of years back that an Iraqi scientist Ibn- al- Haytham made a mention of this kind of device in his book, Book of Optics in 1021. And what we know today as the digital camera was invented by Steven Sasson camera at Eastman Kodak in 1975.
Capturing moments and freezing emotional and important life events forever in pictures is truly a blessing. But in my personal opinion and experience is pictures are not reliable sources. They are often nothing but a big and fat lie!
“Cheese!” That’s what many people say when they take a picture. According to my research Davies, an American lawyer and diplomat who served under Roosevelt suggested this during a photoshoot on the set of the film adaptation of his book Mission to Moscow in 1943. While having his picture taken, he said the formula to taking a good picture was saying "Cheese" as it creates an automatic smile. He also said: "I learned that from a politician, a very great politician. But, of course, I cannot tell you who he was." One theory is that former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with the phrase!
Looking back at these pictures below taken between 1996 – 2004 proves my point. These were the toughest years in our life and yet I smile! I smile next to strangers that I met only once or twice in my entire life. When you take a picture with a celebrity it only takes a second. They don’t know you. They don’t know your story. You on the other hand believe to know them, because of their creative work, be it in the music or TV field.
But in reality, you don’t know anything about these people. And yet in the pictures, we look so tight and familiar! Some of them were more than two-minute acquaintances. I actually worked with a few of them and they became chapters rather than a single sentence in my life story. And yet today I would say they were all just passengers in my life story. So what I’m trying to say is: Creativity can also fool you. Be aware, that not everything that you see or believe to see is the reality!
In the late 90es and early 2000, there was no Social media. There was no Instagram generation with influencers. We took pictures just for us to capture a little moment of happiness. Because meeting creative and successful people (celebrities) is always exciting and inspiring. But trust me looking back at these pictures and knowing what I was going through; I realize that the other person was surely having his or her own difficulties and challenges as well.
In difficult times in life, we have no other choice than to keep smiling, keep shining, keep breathing, keep functioning, keep pretending, keep fighting and finally keep surviving! That’s the reality of life and not the shiny and glossy pictures that we see.
DANCER AND WRITER AHMAD JOUDEH ON JULY 21TH 2021!
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