I’m often an overly emotional person. Outwardly I fool people with my mean muggin’, but deep down I’m processing every little detail going on.
Our most recent trip to New York started on a somber note with our trip to the 9/11 Memorial (LINK), so by the time we reached Lady Liberty, I was already in a deep zone of emotion.*
*Even after having suppressed some of the melancholy by cramming two slices of New York City pizza down my gullet in between.
When we approached Lady Liberty, at first I didn’t pull out my camera. Looking at her, I thought of what the immigrants felt. I thought of the symbol she is for our country. I thought what it means that she is still standing today.
Then I watched as people crammed to the front of the ferry. I stood to the side as two men rushed forward laughing, quickly posing the iconic scene from Titanic of Jack holding Rose as she is ‘flying’ at the bow of the ship. I lifted my camera to avoid catching countless people posing for selfies.
And then I decided to turn things around.
As I began focusing, instead of ignoring, the people focused on angling their cell phones in order to catch the perfect pose with this symbol of our countries’ freedom, I thought of how incredible this would all seem to those boats filled with immigrants seeking a better life. Here, every person on this boat had a cell phone. I imagine they knew where they were going to sleep that night, what they were going to eat, what they might do the next day. Many looked at this statue as another landmark to take a selfie with.
So I decided to capture them capturing their selfie.
I think it proved to be a great experiment.
This one is my favorite
If, by some strange chance of fate, you happen to be one of the selfie subjects I captured, know that this blogger loves you and your selfie taking self.
She also loved taking your picture.
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