Return To Sender

Ok. So, like many of our colleagues, I too am not so sure as to what I want to do with this essay just yet. To be frank, I was a little too preoccupied in finishing my final draft for essay 1, but that's not really an excuse. In any case, I was able to write something out that maybe worth something. Then again, that's not for me to judge. So here it is, and please bear with me. Questions, comments, grievances, and violent reactions are appreciated. :)
-Josemaria


I have a camera. I take photographs. No, not your typical digital photographs but your archaic, black and white, printed from film, photographs. It’s a tedious task, developing film here, enlarging them over there, washing prints somewhere else. It doesn’t help that all of this was done with little or no light. But I enjoy it, despite the dry hands that results from all the chemicals I touch. I enjoy it, despite the constant painful vision adjustment that happen when I move in and out of the darkroom. I enjoy it, despite the fact that when I look at my photographs, it’s not always what I want.

The background shows a grayish lake. The ripples on the water show signs of the passing wind that was blowing that day. It makes the water look like wiggling gelatin. My niece would have liked that. The lake is bordered by grassy banks that were presumably manmade. On the far side of the lake is a blur of trees and lamplights that shade and illuminate visitors respectively. In the foreground, on the near bank of the lake is a bench. And on the bench are two figures, one male and female. He has his arm around her, while her she’s directly looking at him. They look lovely. They look like they’re in love. If you think about the picture, it seems like a happy one. What’s sweeter than spending time with your loved one on a nice afternoon in the park? But that’s not the real question. The question I want to answer is this. Why am I taking that photograph?