“Reality” in the age of photoshop

When we think about lifelogging, we often think about it in terms of documenting and reviewing our lives through static journals of words and pictures. However, one particular photographer has offered a different perspective to this using the pictures that he takes in his everyday life. In a TEDTalk (watch it here!), Erik Johansson explained that he felt that photography these days seem to be all about being at the right place at the right time. However, he wanted to create something different. He wanted to perhaps play with the mind a little to present pictures that seemed almost impossible – taking different pieces of reality to make them an ultimate reality, as he says. To do this, he combines several pictures into one, taken at the same height and with similar types of light, and then makes each picture indistinguishable in terms of where they begun or ended. In his own words “the only thing that limits us is our imagination”. So maybe it’s time to whip out your lifelogs and see how you can combine them in some way to offer a fresh perspective to what you were doing or looking at. Check out more of his works here!

Read more: Reality in the age of photoshop and Photographer Reveals the Lonely Side of Superheroes and Lego Travellers Build Memories With Creative Vacation Photos

Image credited to Erik Johansson

Stepping away from the mobile phone

Apart from photographers like Erik Johansson, we also see a surge of non-professional photographers (ie. most people like you and me) in modern photography, obsessing over getting the perfect picture, which is made especially convenient with good enough cameras on the smart phone. On the surface, many might believe that the mountain of pictures taken will be able to jolt their true memories. However, many studies have posed serious concerns over the obsession in digitally documenting every part of our lives using our mobile phones, especially when it comes at the expense of truly living in the moment. In a podcast by NPR, they discuss about the effect of photographing more while experiencing less. This in turn, has an effect on our memories, because we no longer pay attention to the moments, but let the photographs determine the way we remember everything. In their words, “As soon as you hit click on that camera, it’s as if you’ve outsourced your memory.” This gave rise to their little project #fakememory, which encourages people to upload old photos of themselves that they think they remember only because they saw that picture. Do you have one of those?

Read more: Overexposed? Camera Phones Could Be Washing Out Our Memories and Take Fewer Photos. Make More Memories

Image credited to Matt Jabs

Replacing smartphones?

Perhaps then, one way to curb the concerns above would be to embrace the wave of wearable tech devices that is coming at us. With so much talk about “cumbersome” smartphones actually being replaced by multiple wearable devices and other technologies, maybe this hands-free solution is truly key to integrating the use of technology seamlessly into our lives, and be that bridge between human-human, human-computer and computer-computer interactions. Are we ready to embrace the future of wearable tech devices in every form like nail art, expressive hats and smoke machines, motorised dresses that keep people away on crowded subways, or even chic little clutches that wireless charge our phones?

Read more: Wearable tech can be implanted in brains, thanks to new power technique

Image credited to Wired

Storm-chasers and the futuristic Emirates

Surely though, we at Narrative love wearables when it comes to lifelogging. We also love time-lapse movies because we believe they offer more perspective than looking at individual photographs. So to end off this week in lifelogging, we would like to show you this amazing time-lapse movie captured of a massive thunderstorm in eastern Wyoming last Sunday evening. This one in particular is about a low-precipitation supercell, which has a rotating current of rising air known as updraft that gives it the appearance of spaceships with a rotating cloud base. Have a good weekend ahead!

Watch more: You’ve Never Seen a Thunderstorm Move Like This and Impressive timelapse brings you the futuristic Emirates from every angle and This ten-year timelapse of the 9/11 memorial gives us a powerful reminder

Video credited to BasehuntersChasing

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