I have no problem admitting I’m that annoying person who forces people to say cheese for four group pictures, analyzing the believability of every person’s smile until everything about the picture is just right. Maybe it’s a side-effect of growing up with social media and the untold pressure of posting compelling pictures of me and my friends hanging out at the mall when I was in high school, but I just feel safer with hundreds of image files saved on my computer. The “You’re Not Living In The Moment!” argument against picture-taking has always bothered me, because I see nothing wrong with saving a tangible little piece of your life to daydream about later–kind of like in middle school when some QT (which is preteen for “cutie”) would borrow your pen and you’d preserve it in your desk like it was an artifact. Photos are the currency of our memories, and should Earth ever be taken over by a race of unusually sentimental lifeforms who determine socioeconomic status by one’s photo library, I’ll be set.
I also fancy myself a bit of an aMaTeUr PhOtOgRaPhEr, but I don’t tell people that because it’s like insisting Lolita is your favorite book or claiming to enjoy classical music: It could be true, but it could also be one of those lies we use as quirky personality filler. I like to think my interest in photography has some legitimacy because it stems from a genuine desire to create art that’s long been hindered in every art class I’ve ever taken by my complete inability to hand draw anything recognizable. But not everyone is complaisant about how shutter-happy I can be, and as evidence, please see Mike’s crabby face — most commonly seen before his second cup of coffee and whenever people are getting too close to him at the grocery store — come to life after I asked him to take a picture with me in an open field:
For the most part, he was a patient and willing participant; besides I’m not too proud to use self-timer. The cabin where we stayed and Northern Wisconsin in general were just too beautiful to put the camera down for too long — it’s been a long time since I’ve felt surrounded by nature that felt so unapologetically alive — so I hope you enjoy scrolling through these* as much as I enjoyed taking them.
*These photos do not include the embarrassing amount of selfies I relished taking in seclusion on the lake.
Always save the bacon for last.
