Answers to this opinion, please

[RedStateRon]

There is nothing wrong with a camera, BUT it only records the PAST. Would rather see you enjoy the gifts of the PRESENT !!!!!

My thought was that photography records the present which then instantly become the past actually and metaphysically.

Viewing photos are always of an event in the past; taking a photo is creative present to me.

Any other answers to this opinion would be helpful.

Background:
67 Male; used to shoot semi- pro in the 60s and early 70s - print film VPS 100 Eyes went bad, hard to focus
Had cataracts done and can see like a hawk now.
Thinking of getting back into photography
considering Canon 5D mark III with a few lenses (not kit, but rather the 2.8 F stops, and perhaps the better 50mm)
Asked a respected person their opinion and got the above.

 

[480sparky]

It does only record the past.

By the time the light travels from the subject to the camera, the camera can only record what happened in the past.

 

[manaheim]

It does only record the past.

By the time the light travels from the subject to the camera, the camera can only record what happened in the past.

oooo.... VERY nice.

 

[KmH]

Answer - Don't waste time worrying about it. It's just 1 persons opinion, and opinions are like rectums - everybody has one.
Get the camera and do some photography.

But like Ken (489sparky) states, the reflected light the camera records is light from the past.

In the case of sunlight, the light itself is about 8.5 minutes old, the time it takes for light to travel 93,000,000 miles from the surface of the Sun to Earth.
If you just count the time the sunlight took to travel from what it reflects off of to the camera, then the time factor is more in the range of nanoseconds. (light travels about 3 feet in 1 nanosecond)

Put another way, humans never see the present.

 

[Braineack]

taking a photo is creative present to me.

taking a photo is a technical process to me.

 

[480sparky]

Answer - Don't waste time worrying about it. It's just 1 persons opinion, and opinions are like rectums - everybody has one.
Get the camera and do some photography.

But like Ken (489sparky) states, the reflected light the camera records is light from the past.

In the case of sunlight, the light itself is about 8.5 minutes old, the time it takes for light to travel 93,000,000 miles from the surface of the Sun to Earth.
If you just count the time the sunlight took to travel from what it reflects off of to the camera, then the time factor is more in the range of nanoseconds. (light travels about 3 feet in 1 nanosecond)

Put another way, humans never see the present.

Well, technically, the light from the sun is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000 years old. That's when the nuclear reaction that created it deep in the sun's core occured. It just takes that long for the radiation to work it's way through the thick, dense layers of the sun to the 'surface' so it can travel at what is commonly called 'the speed of light'.

 

[wyogirl]

If photography is something that you enjoy then pursue it. End of story.
I do see people who (at family gatherings or such) always have their face in the camera and in that instance, I do have to agree with "try to enjoy the present instead of recording it"
BUT overall, this forum is filled with photography lovers so yeah... we are going to say get the 5dMiii and have a ball.

 

[EIngerson]

Life is too short for this one. It doesn't matter why you take a photo. just enjoy taking it.

 

[charlie76]

I think the point of a photo is to freeze a moment from the past and place it perpetually in the present

 

[ratssass]

There is nothing wrong with a camera, BUT it only records the PAST. Would rather see you enjoy the gifts of the PRESENT !!!!!

My thought was that photography records the present which then instantly become the past actually and metaphysically.

Viewing photos are always of an event in the past; taking a photo is creative present to me.

.....great,one more thing to ponder

 

[The_Traveler]

I think the point of a photo is to freeze a moment from the past and place it perpetually in the present

Judging from my work flow, it only takes a small part of a second to take it and then anywhere from 2 minutes to two hours to edit it and then forever to enjoy it.

 

[limr]

I despise when someone assumes that what is enjoyable to him or her MUST be what I would also find enjoyable. My response to that person would probably be along the lines of, "Look, you take care of yourself, Jack, and just leave me out of it."

If you find pleasure getting back into photography, then do it.

 

[bribrius]

if history repeats itself, by looking at the past you see the future.

 

[KmH]

Well, technically, the light from the sun is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000 years old. That's when the nuclear reaction that created it deep in the sun's core occured. It just takes that long for the radiation to work it's way through the thick, dense layers of the sun to the 'surface' so it can travel at what is commonly called 'the speed of light'.

The photons created in the core don't reach the surface and are absorbed in collisions with other atoms, In those collisions, new photons (new light) are emitted in the process, which is why I only mentioned the photons that leave the surface.

You are right that that process of propagation takes a very long time.

It's like trying to swim upstream.

 

[480sparky]

The photons created in the core don't reach the surface and are absorbed in collisions with other atoms, In those collisions, new photons (new light) are emitted in the process, which is why I only mentioned the photons that leave the surface.

It's all gamma rays and other high-end energy waves created in the core. What we call 'light' isn't created until the energy is slowly reduced by the multiple collisions, reducing it into what we call visible light.

The core of the sun is a very dark place.