December 17, 2004: Rajat describes the "digital photo effect" (That his ability to produce and acquire has far outstripped his ability to consume), which leads to a state where it's difficult to enjoy/savor/experience any one photo. I'd add that, with this impoverishment of attention, organization takes the place of interaction as the locus of pleasure. We take delight in seeing the patterns in the data or in rearranging our collection so it looks different or seems more meaningful.

So, is this a bad thing? Well, I think it's mixed. I think the loss Rajat points out is a real one, though not a new one: Walter Benjamin was talking about the the loss of "aura" way back in 1936. And, as far as I can remember, he was somewhat ambivalent about it, chronicling a profound change in the production and reception of art, pointing out both what was lost and what was gained.

So, too the current change. I may no longer put together a photo album every 5 years documenting important events in my life (losing a tooth, first day at school, senior prom), but now I am using photographs to take part in an ongoing visual piazza. Something lost, something gained.

Still, Rajat's post made me stop and think about the loss. I want to preserve some of that contemplative time, in which as Benjamin put it "A man who concentrates before a work of art is absorbed by it." So, I hereby resolve to contemplate something every day; to give it my full attention, if even only for a few minutes.