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I find that taking up the camera when it is appropriate too — when in a crowd that also takes up its cameras, to capture some event that is photographic or noteworthy, something to describe to friends — prevents me from seeing interesting things (I only see the thing meant to be pictured, of which nothing is surprising because I am expecting it, and I become obsessed with getting the perfect picture, an image I’ve already created in my head and so cannot learn anything from); and using a camera when not appropriate (the street, a dance, the woods, commuting) forces me to look; to see infinitely more than otherwise when I wouldn’t be looking. I find that the camera is more useful when I don’t need it, and less useful when I do.
