What Would Our World Look Like Without Photography or Videography?
This will be a rather short post, but….
I saw a similar question being asked on TikTok when I was searching for topics people are interested in and this got me thinking. It would certainly be a boring, less vivid, less expressive world we would live in not being able to share our lives and adventures with the world around us. I feel like our world revolves around both Photography and Videography. We would not have YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, SnapChat and so on. Even the daily news that we watch would look differently, not being able to see pictures and video from events happening around the world, let alone we probably wouldn’t have the news at all (at least visually). If we wouldn’t have the news, then we wouldn’t have TV shows or movies either. I even got to thinking magazines, newspapers and certain books would look a bit different without seeing the photography that is shared within them. Scientific discoveries would have to be documented differently as well. Photography and Videography are essential in how we share things with each other and those we share our photos and videos with to give a broader perspective. For some people the photos and videos shared from different parts of the world, country, state, town or city, are visuals of a place they may never get to see nor visit in their lifetime, they at least get to see it in picture or video form, if it be the architecture, the people, the culture, vegetation, landscape, animals, and so on and so forth. Us as humans have a curious mind and being able to see these things before our very eyes is both satisfying and special even if it is a photo or video taken by someone other than ourselves.
Another thought, those precious family albums or videos your parents put together for you growing up would be non-existent. Photos and videos of different events like weddings, birthdays, graduations, and vacations would have no visual trail to look back upon or to share with others present and future. These very items are like the time capsules of our lives that we eventually share down the line with family and friends and generations to come. Without photography and videography, our family history would be made of stories (one’s we could remember without the reminder of a picture or video) or documents, thus making it more difficult for future generations to relate to and/or visualize past family events and the visual of past family members they may have not been able to meet.
In fact I just watched an old family video recently, which was very interesting. I always knew that I had a love and passion for photography, but in this very video I was maybe 3 years old and I already had a camera in hand. It looked like maybe an old camera my parents had that they gave to me to play with (not sure if it actually worked or not), but I was taking a “picture” of my mom and brother (he was just a baby then) and I told my mom to hold my brother a certain way and to pose a certain way, like the photographers do in a studio, hahaha. My parents also kept pictures I took from disposable cameras either given to me, or I found laying around at events, I was about the same age 3-5 years old according to the photo album. Definitely a fun way to look back at what I took pictures of and what I felt was important. But that goes to say, without that video and saved pictures to my photo album, I would have no recollection that my passion for photography stems back to when I was 3 years old.
I got to thinking about my own photography present day, and that I would not be able to share nor be able to look back upon for a personal memory, the wildlife I have seen over the years and the destinations I have been to. As it would be there one moment and gone the next. It’s like you have the power to stop time the moment you click the button of a camera to take a photo, or the moment you hit record, you are capturing moments in time that will last forever.
In a sense our world would look like a chapter book, JUST WORDS and something you have to imagine on your own, not saying it would be a bad thing, however, the depiction of the characters, items and subjects being described would be viewed very differently from one person to the next.
Like take this sentence for instance and I will describe a photo I took (currently in my Gallery) of a Red Fox in my backyard.
A vibrant green backyard filled with tall pine, oak, and maple trees, their autumn colors glowing. At the edge of the woods, a Red Fox sits quietly on a stack of firewood.
If you get to thinking about it, if we did not have a world with photography or videography you may not even know what a Red Fox looks like, let alone a pine, oak and maple tree. So, you may not understand what I am trying to describe to you because you may have never seen this type of scene or subjects in this particular scene without the help of photography and videography. As there would be no visual evidence of what they would look like, only word of mouth.
I sometimes think that photography and videography is something we take for granted, including myself. It is something that was just given to us and most of us have grown up with both of these during our lives thus far and if it was all taken away in an instant I am sure we would all be in a panic. Our whole lives revolve around photography and videography. Next time you get on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or are watching TV, take a moment and think about this. What are you looking at? What are you watching? Or Are you taking a video or picture?
A world without photography and videography would definitely have fewer means of connection and loss of memorable life moments. Photography and videography enables us to share moments, ideas, and emotions in ways that words alone cannot capture. From everyday snapshots to iconic historical images, it brings depth, richness, and authenticity to our experiences. Without photography and videography, the world would likely feel less vibrant, more isolated, and have a sense of distance from everything and everyone around us.
I challenge you to think about this question in depth and how it pertains to your life and think about how photography and videography pertains to what you cherish most, your everyday life, and what may be missing from it, if these were suddenly eliminated today.
Cheers!
Vanessa
