On vacation;In Search of the Kodak Moment
I am endlessly fascinated with vernacular or what is usually referred to as “amateur photography”. The way we use photography as a way to document and archive life’s various moments speaks volumes about photography being the most democratic medium of all.
On vacation; In Search of the Kodak Moment is a tongue-in-cheek take on vacation pictures as well as vernacular photography. I am intrigued by vacation photography since they perfectly embody the essence of amateur photography. Most photos taken on vacation rarely tells us nothing new or surprising about a given place. For the most part, these kinds of images confirm what we already know about a place.
The same can be said about family pictures. No matter which family album you browse through, the same pictures seem to dominate; vacations, Christmas, birthdays, pets, weddings and a lots of kids with red eyes.
That being the case, can amateur photographers still produce interesting images? Most definitely. I have seen pictures taken by snap shooters that are engaging and visually arresting. I think it has to do with the fact that the photographer did not really care about producing a photograph that by the professional photographer would be considered to be technically or esthetically acceptable.
It is this careless approach to photography that contributes to my fascination with amateur pictures. It is in other words a concept worthy of serious exploration.