Picture Imperfect

The sun sets slowly behind the clouds, sinking into a slow rest while bathing us with the orange ambience of grandness.

“They’re waiting for us,” said my friend as we both looked and admired the scenery.

“They can wait,” I replied softly. “This won’t.”

The clouds, magnified by the presence of the sun, puffed its underside in majesty, shadowy with its blue. The contrast between this and its brightly coloured top is striking.

“Take a picture of it,” I told my friend. She meekly resisted; something about how her cameraphone isn’t great. I didn’t say anything as she whipped it out anyway, knowing full well that she herself wants to capture the moment for posterity.

She aimed, squinted, clicked.

We crowd the screen.

The picture was rubbish. Its pixellated edges did nothing to accentuate the contrast, and if anything, it looked like a mess of a boiled egg.

The thought crossed my mind that maybe we can never capture the beauty of the scene. As it sinks ever further into the slow darkness, I can’t help but feel that its beauty lies in the fact that it cannot be seen, but felt. That it is not to be touched, or preserved, because it lies not with the sun, or the clouds, or anything else for that matter.

Maybe it lies with the emotions and feelings that are evoked within us.

That beauty is within us.

Either that, or her cameraphone really is crap.

“Let’s go.”

Comments

Anonymous said…
Heya Fikri, haven't visited for awhile. Looks like a lot of good stuff here, eh? *chuckles*

& yeah, camera phones don't really work well. Phones work better just as phones, & cameras that are purely cameras... well, they work way better than that which you find embedded in a handphone.

I guess it goes to show one thing (& you may disagree with me here), that we should focus on doing one thing at a time, & do it well. (Something I'm having a hard time learning to do... I'm easily distracted...)

& I'm a total klutz at taking photos. I guess the best photos we ever take are those we store in our memory & not that of a digital camera's. & photos never really do capture everything that happened. Furthermore, sometimes dwelling on a picture makes us linger too long on a past moment, when something even better could just be awaiting us around the corner...
Fikri said…
Hey Su! Glad to see you here. It has indeed been a while. :> Lots of good stuff? Like Emperor Palpatine said, good is a matter of opinion. For my part, I try my best. C'est tout :>

I wouldn't know much about cameraphones. I don't have one, so I can only judge their effectiveness on other's opinions. My friend did indeed say that the phone won't be able to do what we wanted it to do, but we gave it a shot anyway, and it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. But that's alright :>

It depends whether the best photos are indeed our memories. For me, photos serves as a reminder of yesterday and of yesteryears, a catalyst of whatever it is that the pictures reminds us of. Happiness, sadness, anger, joy, etc.

I do agree, however, that something good is around the corner. I always think that (or at the very least, try to).

But then again, good is a matter of opinion. Nothing more than a word... :>
Anonymous said…
Wow! Another post that describes how I really love admiring the sun rising n setting..
Keep it up Fikri!

SaNiA
Anonymous said…
hey fikri, you got potential. just don't waste it, and pull out the last moment. i'd really encourage you to chase that dream of yours, which I sense its immensely powerful, though i don't exactly know what it is. i wish to see it shine in full glory when the time is ripe. don't disappoint me and everyone. XD
Anonymous said…
''that beauty is within us..''
you know what? that was a beautiful line.. and you helped me deal with this difficult question that i had been trying to crack for days.. thank you!! :)
aaki
Fikri said…
To Sania: Thanks :> Hope you're doing fine.

To Anon 1: Greetings, stranger :> Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. From that, I get this distinct impression that you know me personally. Nonetheless, I NEVER intend on giving up my dreams. For me, they are what sustains me, what keeps me going. Without that...

To Aaki: Hey there. I think you've been here before. I haven't seen or heard from you for a while. Shame that, cos you always say nice things about me :> I'm glad that it helps someone in some way. I hope that the problem works out for you. Take care!
Anonymous said…
And just think, as you watch that beautiful sunset... that someone in a faraway land is watching a beautiful sunrise... with you.
Fikri said…
Hmm...never thought of it that way before...