[voicereasonish]

People these days are so busy photographing, videoing, posting crap to twitter to see if people approve of what they're doing... They're missing out on actually enjoying and living life.

Look at concerts - a sea of idiots holding up their phones, videoing an event, watching through their silly little phone. Enjoy the event! Buy the official DVD later if you want.

So IMHO, this seems pretty obsessive and extreme.

OK End of rant...

[cloverich]

Phones at concerts aren't so they can re-watch them themselves, but so they can share the pictures / videos with friends.

> to see if people approve of what they're doing...

So completely disagree that that has anything to do with it. Its inherently social, and imho in a way its enhancing the moment.

> a sea of idiots holding up their phones, videoing an event, watching through their silly little phone. Enjoy the event!

A sea of critics, wasting their time passing judgement on people. Enjoy the show!

[baby]

> so they can share the pictures / videos with friends.

And 99% of the time the quality is so awful that nobody cares. It's just to show people they were at that gig or that event.

> imho in a way its enhancing the moment.

I really don't feel like looking at something through a lens or holding your camera is enhancing the moment. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has a scene like that where the photograph don't take a picture just to appreciate the moment, because it's beautiful.

> wasting their time passing judgement on people.

well you're right on this one, to each their own I guess.

[netcan]

http://xkcd.com/1314/

I think a greta parallel is hunting and fishing. It's all very well to say, just enjoy the lake and buy your fish later. In reality, it's hard to "just enjoy" some things. We need to interact with them somehow or talk to people about them or something.

Same with hunting. Lots of people say that what they enjoy is tracking, stalking. Watching animals for hours and getting to understand them. You could theoretically do all those things without a rifle… but you won't. People who are obsessive blob hunters know more about blobs than anyone else. They know the environment better than anyone else and they learn all sorts of interesting skills along the way.

Also, at the risk of sounding troll-ish (I hope I'm not though). Adding IMHO here sounds a bit like 'I'm not racist but.' I think humbleness is overrated, but that isn't a humble opinion.

[bayes]

Relevant xkcd: http://xkcd.com/1314/

[smoyer]

I would agree with you ... there are many individuals who only see the city they're visiting through a lens. On the other hand, 30-60 seconds a day to capture a lifetime of changes doesn't seem overly arduous. I have lots of memories I wish I'd captured via a photograph or journal entry but it's a bit too late now. This is quite a keepsake.

[massysett]

Before visiting the link I thought the guy had his daughter line up in front of a white wall every single day so he could do a dramatic time-lapse sort of thing. Maybe that would have been a bit obsessive. All he did was a regular snapshot wherever it was convenient. This is no more obsessive than brushing your teeth every morning.

[gizmo686]

In fairness, I stand in front of a white wall every day to brush my teeth. I could easily imagine connected a mounted camera wirelessly to the button on my electric tooth brush and not having to think about it.

Of course, this comes from a person who already has his phone record its gps posistion every 5 minutes.

[amerkhalid]

Photography is a fun hobby for many people. It is an experience itself. And who cares if people are posting on Facebook and Twitter. I enjoy looking at my friends vacations and get ideas for things to do.

But I agree with you on concerts, that is just rude to take photos while ruining the view for people behind you.

And I love this project. It seems a natural project for any photographer parent. I am sure we will this more and more. Not obsessive at all.

[aestra]

> who cares if people are posting on Facebook and Twitter

It is the sheer volume of photos that I believe bothers a lot of people. "oversharing." You get sick of the same baby every single day. Also craving extreme volumes of attention makes you come off as narcissistic. A lot of the time those photos aren't for them, they are to present to others in order to gain attention.

[rickyc091]

While I agree with you, he did start this project 18 years ago. 1996. Definitely way before the cellphone generation.

[jacquesm]

I wonder if he started out on film or digital from the beginning.

[jeroen]

Canon introduced its first Powershot in 1996, with 0.5 MPixels.

[r4pha]

I suppose there is an optimal ratio. While I agree some people overuse it, I still find it unbelievably awesome the fact that we carry a device in our pocket capable of registering a moment so that we can remember it later or share with others.

[lotsofcows]

Please don't call me an idiot because my idea of fun is different to yours.

[hellbreakslose]

I'll agree with you, this is a bit obsessive an extreme.