a picture i left untaken

In the movie "Elizabethtown", one of Kirsten Dunst's recurring gestures is a pantomime of taking a photograph...holding her hands up to her face as if she was holding a camera, closing one eye as if looking through a viewfinder, and pressing the "shutter" with her pointer finger. I love that gesture, because I think we all find ourselves in those moments we wish we could capture on film (or memory card), and yet aren't able to...whether for lack of camera or - more often - for fear of ruining the moment.

Taking that concept to the next level, photographer Michael David Murphy created Unphotographable...capturing his untaken pictures in eloquent and concise bits. Very cool reading...helping me (the person who rarely goes anywhere without the camera!) consider how I might incorporate my unphotographed memories in my scrapbooks, and reflect on the moments tucked away that are all the better for having stayed unphotographed.

Like the one of that guy lying mere inches away from me, resting his head on his pillow...both of us tucked loosely in the covers as we chatted aimlessly...neither one of us in any way motivated to get up, even with the sun streaming brightly through the windows. Such a platonic moment, and yet a beautifully poignant reminder of the comfortable pleasure of lazy mornings with someone wonderful.

What pictures have you left untaken?

Where I am: Lebanon, KY
What I'm reading: The Lady & the Panda

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