----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob W" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
the tourists' view and the residents' view are both equally real. Kruger NP really does contain lions, giraffes and water buffalo as well as dung beetles. When people talk about 'the real Erewhon' they seem to mean the Erewhon where people live. I don't see how an outsider can say that the dominant image is representative of the real London, or how an insider can really understand what the dominant image is. I certainly couldn't tell you.
Hi Bob & Subash: I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful exchange about travel photography. Both of you raise excellent points! I hope you don't mind me adding my own rambling thoughts. I've come to think that in using the word "real"--and a relentless search for the "real"--in the context of travel can sometimes keep one trapped and thus is not very helpful or meaningful. Like Bob, I live in a major tourist city, Chicago, which has its share of "touristy iconic images and sites," and visitors to Chicago go to those places to have the pleasurable experience of seeing them--heck, I've even taken visiting friends to these places because they wanted to see them, and I've photographed them standing in front of the places--and guess what, many of these places have very "real" meaning to me. I've worked in some of the famous buildings, have been an active member of some of the museums, have fond memories of some of the famous statues, outdoor art, department store windows, have had romantic and raucous dinners and lunches at the famous restaurants, and have had wonderful experiences and dates at the famous theme parks and gardens.
If you asked me what was the "real" Chicago, my little space of home might be what comes to mind 1st, my little neighborhood north of downtown--away from these touristy places, but I have a very real connection to much of what people would consider touristy. And if a photographer came into my little space of home--"real" Chicago, what would he or she find? People going to work, fighting, loving, hating, eating, shopping, engaging in recreation (legal or illegal), interacting with other neighbors, friends, and family--activity which is quite universal--of course, the jobs, food, language, sports, entertainment might be different than downtown or other places around the world. Clearly, the material and physical landscape of my little Chicago neighborhood is different than downtown Chicago, but at heart and in spirit, the human experience and interaction would be very similar in my neighborhood but perhaps a little less grand and majestic than of downtown Chicago.
I forget who said, "first there was adventure, then travel, then tourism"--it seems the implication here is that the movement of people from one place to another has devolved into something cheap and meaningless--and folks are always telling me that they "don't travel like a tourist. They don't do touristy things." I even had someone say to me that he couldn't understand how anyone could have a good time traveling if he/she didn't stay with "native residents" for a "real" experience. I have to be honest, I find these kinds of statements pretentious and unfair. A good many well intentioned folks want to travel the world--to know the world as best they can, but unfortunately they are limited by time, space, and money, so they do the best they can. Even Nat Geo photographers have the same restrictions--even if they are assigned to places for 6 months or a year, in the end they will have done the best they could to capture some sense or spirit of a place and people--but frankly I find this a tricky thing--the spirit of a place is never just one thing for all its people--it's always a mix of images, experiences, and landscapes--touristy & non-touristy--so someone will always disagree about value and meaningfulness of what has been artistically captured and chronicled and put forth as "real."
When I was in London I saw Big Ben and photographed it (I thought it would be taller though); when I go to India, I will photograph the Taj Mahal; and when in Africa, I'll seek out my beloved African elephant. Of course, I will search out other photographic experiences and chronicle them--and they all will become part of the mix--that big stew of experiences, and in my view, it will all be real :-)
Sorry for the ramble. Cheers, Christine -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
