...I’d love to tell you how beautiful Lake Bled is in autumn, but the truth is I’ve no idea. I went to Slovenia back in May and took just one shot of its famous island church. Applying only my basic knowledge of photo editing, I wanted to see how easy it would be to change the season of the image. Why? Because now, more than ever, my feed is inundated with impossibly vibrant photos of nature. So much so that I find myself wondering if they represent reality at all. Here you can see my original shot from early summer and the end result in ‘autumn’. To the untrained eye, it could have you fooled.
Sure, we all tweak our photos to look their best; myself included. Perhaps that’s just part of the fun. I guess the point I’m making here is to remind yourself once in a while that things aren’t always what they seem. Those glassy smooth lakes with icy blue water could well be the work of photoshop. Those ‘spontaneous’ and ‘authentic’ moments posted by your favourite influencer may actually be the product of careful planning and many hours of work. Instagram’s hyper-aestheticisation of travel culture should not be to the detriment of the meaning behind your photos; nor should it make our adventures any less valid.
#
|
