Notes From The Road: See

by Randy Murray on August 21, 2012

At the entry to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh they’ve built a beautiful little museum called “The Queen’s Gallery.” It houses a portion of the art collection that English monarchs have amassed over the years. You can view everything there in an unhurried hour or so, the perfect length for a museum visit, in my opinion.

While I stood in the gallery, viewing a display case of Faberge Eggs, a young Asian woman pushed her way in front of me and began to quickly photograph every item in the case. She never looked up from the back of her camera, simply took her pictures and moved on. I noticed her hurry her way around the room and on, snapping pictures of everything.

As we finished with the gallery and toured Holyrood Palace, the ruins of the connected Abby, and the gardens, she was never far away, always snapping pictures and hurrying on.

I was sad for her. She was there, in the same place as I. If she’d simply put down her camera she could have seen Arthur’s Seat towering above us. She could have seen where Mary, Queen of Scots was dining with her ladies and her private secretary, David Rizzio, in a space not much bigger than a closet. This is where Mary’s husband and a group of others broke in, dragged Rizzio out, and stabbed him to death. You can walk across the room and see the spot where they left his body.

But this young woman will only see pictures of these things.

Take lots of pictures. I did. But every so often put your camera in your pocket and look around. Your photos should only act as a reminder of the things you saw, not a complete record.

Your mind is a far better camera. Look through your own eyes more than your viewfinder. Slow down, even sit occasionally. Look about you.

See for yourself.

The Notes From The Road: See by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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