On Not Carrying a Camera – Cultivating memories instead of snapshots

Last summer, in Greensboro, North Carolina, at a retrospective exhibition of my work, a photographer introduced himself and asked a question no one had ever asked me. I assumed he was a photographer because he carried a camera bag, its pockets bulging with lenses. I thought he might ask if I preferred using a digital or a film camera, or if I preferred color to black-and-white film. But no, his question was different. He said he’d noticed that out of a hundred plus photographs in the exhibit, only one was titled “Chapel Hill.” “There must have been others, right? You’re from Chapel Hill.” I told him that I seldom photographed in Chapel Hill. “But why?” he asked. I said, “Because I live there. I can’t do two things at once.” I think he laughed. At least I hope he did, because I didn’t intend to be rude. But I was serious. I don’t carry a camera in my hometown of Chapel Hill, and even though my cellphone contains a camera, I use it only for snapshots. Naturally, there were moments ... Read full article.