I bought a new camera last week. This week I am learning to use it. It is a Canon 50D, a mid-range prosumer body with a 28-135 zoom lens. When I am happy with it, I will pass it off to my daughter who will be using it for school in the fall. I haven’t been much of a photographer in my life, preferring to see life through my eyes than through pictures that are mere slices of history. The same goes for movies. My wife doesn’t have this aversion.

I think my aversion to seeing the world this way is related to my feeling about people, not my enjoyment of material nature, the blue sky, green trees, flowers, or even my enjoyment of people. As it turns out, I am actually very shy about asking people if I can take their picture. It seems rude to me. I don’t know whether this is a natural aversion, or some sense that I can’t make an object of them. I think I should learn to ask people if I can take a picture of them. Who knows the truth of this?