I chose this picture for two reasons: because it was the only picture I had with another person in it, and because I love the setting of it. When my brother and I were in Colorado two summers ago we climbed Mt. Sneffles, a 14,000+ foot mountain, and on our way back down there was an incredible view of different peaks and valleys so I felt the desire to document it in a picture. When I took the picture I wanted to focus on the background and have my brother only be a piece of the photo. I wanted to make sure that the clouds and the jagged mountains were included in the picture; therefore I decided to take it a distance from him. I think since I was so encompassed by the joy of climbing the mountain and being surrounded by so much beauty I was a little bit over excited about taking pictures because now that I look back at the photo I realize that it’s not as great as I once thought, especially to someone that was not actually there.
If my brother were to turn around and take a picture of me it would have been the opposite of the one I took. It would have been the front of my body, and behind me would be Mt. Sneffles so it would be where we had come from instead of where we were heading. The caption that he would put underneath would probably be something along the lines of “we just climbed that!” My brother knows me pretty well so he would not have quite the same assumptions as if “the other” were somebody that he truly did not know. However, he would probably make assumptions that I was exhausted judging from the look that was probably on my face.
This activity has made me think about the way that I take pictures of people, particularly when I travel. As I went searching for a picture to use I found it very difficult to find a picture that consisted of other people outside of myself. This has made me realize that a big part of capturing a true travel experience includes taking pictures where there are locals that are captured in their normal environment. This is because it helps to see the culture of the place you are in. A different way of representing others in pictures for me would be to just start representing them period which is something I am definitely going to do on the next trip I take.
