Backgrounds

I despise nearly every picture of myself, because they're so artificial (not to mention this face ain't photogenic.... why do you think I write?). A fake smile, fake pose, and resisting the urge to blink doesn't strike me as fun. Having said that, I do like a genuine moment captured, a subject unaware they were being recorded. That's why I prefer the background in most pictures, where passing individuals are oblivious that their gesture and expression are about to be frozen.

Pictures from weddings, reunions, and trips to Disneyland are packed with background passersby. They didn't know there was someone snappin up memories, and now, they happen to be a part of it, coloring the scene. I think it's fun imagining where that person was going, what they were thinking. We know what the person in the foreground was thinking, "I need to blink. I need to blink. Take the picture because I need to blink." But, what of the others populating the background? Are mad? Happy? Confused? Are they looking for their wife? Mistress? Dog? Where do they live? Sacramento? Toronto? Bangladesh? The possibilities are endless, and emphasize that you'll never know who passed behind you those months ago in San Francisco.

But, then again, maybe you don't care.