Living in the mundane

I have liked taking photos since I was a wee’un. Growing up with many disposable cameras in 90’s, digital for the next 20 years and then recently going back to good old analog photos in my 30’s. I love just pressing that shutter button and producing a permanent record of a moment in time.

These photos are not particularly interesting, or “artful”. I don’t think is a word, but you know what I mean. A past me tried to do that, and maybe they produced something interesting. But as I have aged that is the opposite of what I want to do. I am interested in taking pictures of the mundane. Existing, to me, is the most interesting thing something can do.

A few months ago I was waiting for a friend at a train station. I spent the time waiting ignoring my book and phone, and just watched the people go by, vicariously living in this brief moment of their life. The dad trying to wrangle his two young daughters into keeping close to him in the busyness of the stations floor. The guy with who had a leg prosthetic, which you probably wouldn’t notice at first glance by how gracefully he walked with it. The businessperson with a laptop next to them on the almost entirely useless tiny table attached to the seats used by those waiting, but then choosing to completely ignore the laptop in favour of scrolling on their phone. Hundreds of people walked by, every single one interesting.

When I take photos, I want to take pictures of the mundane. The beauty of that is it’s always there, a shadow cast over everything. I want to capture what the world is like for that moment. People trying to do their jobs, or get their daily tasks done. Concrete buildings on an empty street. If I have kids, then I'll want to take pictures of them doing everyday things, and eventually give them a wee camera to take pictures of their own. I'm going to start taking pictures of the people I meet up with.

Watching people go by and basking in everyday is my personal form of meditation. During my morning commute on the tram, sitting in a coffee shop. Or better yet, when I’m on the train absorbing what is going on around me in the carriage. Looking out the window at the world go by, as the people across from me talk about things going on in their lives. That's the best shit. Soul enrichment.

I read a book last year at the recommendation of a friend, which I have probably mentioned in a previously blog post. "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami. I would recommend this book to almost anyone, because it's short (a good weekend read), and really fucking boring. But that's the point, and what made it one of my favourite books I have read. The journal/memoir of a Japanese runner preparing for marathons amongst his daily work over a period of a couple of years is surprisingly inspiring. People will probably re-use the quote "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional" from the book. But I think the best quote comes right at the end when he's talking about what he'd want written on his gravestone. "At Least He Never Walked".

I think I would want mine to say "He Always Paid Attention".