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Visitors at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada see the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the year 2024 photo competition. Photo: del Beskin |
Where are you most likely to see photos? For most people, the answer is probably “on your phone”. And that’s fine. Our phone has allowed us to see more images than ever, and we have definitely become a more visually oriented society.
The trade-off is that this digital flood has made the task of looking at the pictures a very short-term experience. We swipe through countless pictures daily and hardly there is time to do what is in one before going to the next.
This behavior often spreads to any photo, whether advertising, seeing our Instagram feed or winning images in a major photo competition. We often provide convenience Winners of such competitions Here on DPREVIEW because we like to share great photography. Nevertheless, I am constantly amazed to see how quickly some people zoom through images before proceeding.
I understood. We live in a fast-paced society, and so we roll. But what is often lost in this digital rush is a deep and solid experience of participating in a real photo exhibition.
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| Posting impressive pictures online is a great way to share them with the public, but it is not like participating in a live photo exhibition with the same images. (Above: Coverage of dpreview Wildlife photographer of the year 2024 winners.) |
I found a powerful reminder of it during a recent visit Royal BC Museum In Victoria, Canada, hosting a touring exhibition Wildlife photographer of the year 2024 Competition by competition the natural History MuseumLondon. written DPREVIEW Article Regarding this competition, I had already seen all the 100 winning images in digital form.
Nevertheless, when I entered the exhibit hall, I was immediately ready in a way when I never felt looking at the online photo. Large, printed (and, in this case, backlit) pictures are a fundamentally different experience. Even though I had seen these images a dozens of times, the in-tradition experience was far more immersive, and it inspired me to reflect that we are all missing. Beyond the clear appeal of large prints, what do we achieve as the audience when we experience photography in a person?
“Even though I had seen these images dozens of times, the in-tradition experience was far more immersive.”
To begin with, an exhibition makes it easy to experience a story rather than viewing only a collection of photos. A well -choreographed theme or an arrangement of images creates a natural fiction flow, allowing you to step back and can see a collection in its entirety or wander back and forth between photos, find connections that may be less clear in the linear world of a digital slide show.
An exhibition also gives you a rare gift in our noise digital world: location to focus. A reflective atmosphere free from distractions allows you to sink yourself into experience.
Going to an exhibition is also a conscious decision to give yourself a gift of time. You are more likely to be slow and actually think of images. I must have spent a few minutes to see this special collection online; I personally spent two to three hours in experience.
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A photo can be easier to step back from the exhibition and a complete collection of photos can be better to see how they are related or to see interesting photos again and make a relationship between them. Photo: del Beskin |
Finally, there is a powerful human element. At the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, I found myself in a spontaneous conversation with the total strangers about several images. Despite seeing the same pictures, we all paid attention to different things. Connecting with my fellow humans can be the most powerful aspect of in-practice experience-a reminder of a reminder can be a catalyst for human connections.
Although I have focused on my recent experience in a major museum, some of the most rewarding performances are found in accessible public places. I have displayed my own photography in places like Washington State Capital and Washington State Convention Center, and I always wonder how many people make a point to visit such places to see art.
If you have been for some time for a real photo exhibition, I encourage you to find the experience again. If you have never gone for one, please make time. Step away from that infinite scroll and feel what happens when you stand before a real photo. The difference is worth it.
