General

Where is my mind? A deep dive into my camera roll

Noticing a ladybird on a sage bush. Photo taken by Heidi Swigon

I'm not much of a photographer. I have little patience setting up 'the perfect shot', plus the idiosyncrasies of image-capturing equipment don't hold my attention.

I am, however, a note-taker. And my smartphone is often deployed in lieu of pen and paper. My camera roll is full of things that have grabbed my attention for one reason or another. The thought behind each picture is usually "This interests me, I'm going to save this for later". Later doesn't always come around so in an effort to change that, I thought I'd try something new – to intentionally review the photos taken on a recent trip and see if there are any commonalities or themes around the things that caught my eye. What AM I actually interested in? And how could that knowledge shape where and how I choose to spend my time in the future?

Context

So the trip I went on was 5.5 weeks, travelling with my uncle to Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. We had different reasons for visiting each country, and that made each phase of the trip distinct.

Japan (2 weeks) - a multi-city adventure, stopping off in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. Our main aim was to experience the culture (as much as a foreign traveller can do).

New Zealand (3 weeks) - our priorities for this country were to spend time with relatives, recover from Japan, and do some exploring.

Singapore (0.5 weeks) - a 'last hurrah' city break to soften the departure of leaving relatives behind and ease ourselves back into a more westerly time zone.

Methodology

My initial approach to this project was to comb through every photo I had taken during the trip and see if I could discern any noticeable similarities. At first glance, I knew there were some clear themes, driven by the volume of photographs with similar subject matter. Once some categories were determined, I planned to go through my camera roll in more detail and work out how many photos could be assigned to each category.

Reader, I did not end up taking this approach. Or, at least, not to the level of detail I originally intended.

Firstly, trying to assign a category to each photo turned out to be...ambitious.

Secondly, outside of this little project, I've found myself increasingly resistant to the idea of putting everything into neat little boxes. The desire to categorise / taxonomise has led Western society down some dark paths, and thinking that is the only way to understand the world can be extremely narrow.

And thirdly, it's hard to label emotions. As I was going though my photos, I realised I wasn't so much trying to capture the scene because of the aesthetics, but the 'feelings' behind it. More on that later.

However, although my intended framework collapsed fairly early on, I did find the act of reviewing my photos insightful - and not just because of what I learnt from the process.

Main photo themes

Of the 1086 pictures I took while I was away, most of them fall into one (or more) of these five categories...

Trees and tree infrastructure

Six photographs arranged in a 2x3 grid. They show different trees in Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. — A selection of Good Trees and their infrastructure. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

I hadn't realised how many pictures of trees (and tree-supporting structures) I took until I looked back through my pics. Gnarly, spooky trees feature quite heavily, especially in the Japan album. New Zealand has lots of tree ferns. In Singapore, I can recall marvelling at all the epiphytic plants, so there are a fair few pictures of 'hairy' trees.

Exhibitions and artworks

Six photographs arranged in a 2x3 grid, showing various artworks including sculpture, video, painting, and assembles made by gallery visitors. — A variety of artworks from a variety of exhibitions. Not pictured - the corresponding labels and information boards. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

From an unexpected theme to one I saw coming a mile off. Anyone who knows me well will not be surprised that my camera roll features a lot of photos from exhibitions, museums, and art galleries. With true 'note-taking' intent, I also took pictures of the labels so I can refer back to the artist / artwork.

"Bearing witness"

Six photographs arranged in a 2x3 grid, showing my uncle out and about on our travels. He's always pictured from behind. In three pictures he's walking, and in the other three, he's taking a photo using his smartphone. — Looking at my uncle looking at things. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

I took a lot of candid pics of my uncle on this trip (as well as the usual posed shots in front of notable landmarks). But I also found myself taking photos of my uncle taking photos. I think it was because I liked capturing what he thought was worth capturing - plus there's something deliciously meta about it.

Awe and wonder

Your typical holiday photos, including sunsets, natural landscapes, the night sky and cityscapes. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

I'd say photos in this category are your standard holiday snaps - big vistas, good landscapes, beautiful sunsets etc etc. There probably was an element of "I should probably take a photo of this" at play, too.

Special shout-out to the bottom left photo, though. While it might be hard to distinguish from dust on your screen, it's actually the Milky Way. I've never seen it before so thank you, New Zealand, for your low light pollution.

Quirks and amusements

Six photographs arranged in a 2x3 grid. Left to right along the top: a statue, a mural of a fire-breathing frog and a screenshot from a translation tool. Left to right on the bottom: a phone underneath a cloth, a walking palm and the reflection of a sign in the night's sky. — Oddities, quirky things and lolz. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

This is a more obscure category in that the subject matter is varied, but these are things that amused me on my travels - from your very own civil servant for the afterlife (top left) to a walking palm (bottom middle).

I reckon if I asked an AI tool to categorise my photos, it would miss this category entirely. Another human might too, unless they had exactly the same sense of humour as me. Although I think the palm is pretty self-explanatory.

Secondary photo themes

The next few themes are less present in my camera roll in terms of volume, but distinctive enough for me to notice...

Wayfinding

Three photos in a line. From left to right: a screenshot of Google Maps showing a street in New Zealand, a screenshot showing the location on Hotel Keihan Asakusa in Tokyo, and a photograph of a street map in Tokyo. — Photos of maps and screenshots of Google Maps. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

In an effort to conserve data, I tried to navigate around using screenshots and photos of maps. This was only mildly successful. However, I quite like having a record of these (intended) routes and being able to place myself in those surroundings.

Airport idiosyncrasies

Empathetic signage around various airports. Photos taken by Heidi Swigon

This trip involved a bit of air travel so I got to experience all the different ways major (and minor) transport hubs get people and their belongings from A to B.

While I did marvel at the variety of baggage carousels (said entirely without sarcasm), I also noted the different ways things were communicated or labelled.

Not all airports are equal. Some have Snooze Lounges.

#Making Memories

Going through my photos again, there are a few that make me pause. Not because of the subject matter or composition, but something about that moment meant something.

Close-up for a feijoa - a bright green fruit with a smooth skin, similar in size to a lime. — Close-up of a feijoa. Photo by Heidi Swigon

The photo above is one example. This is a feijoa. If you haven't tried one, they are a tangy kiwi-shaped fruit that is not a kiwi. While a rarity in the UK, there's a glut of them in New Zealand (even Old Mout Cider does a feijoa flavour over there).

This one was plucked from my cousins' tree in their garden. As it had been hanging in the late summer sun, it was deliciously warm when I tucked into it. This photo brings back that multi-sensory memory - as well as reminding me that feijoas exist.

So, what did I learn? And what am I going to do with that knowledge?

I enjoyed this exercise. And doing it in a slow, messy, human way (as opposed to finding software to analyse my photos for me) helped me tap into some of the feelings behind the photos, not just the subject matter
Something that surprised me was the lack of food pictures (feijoas not withstanding). I did take a few, but they're more under the #MakingMemories category. There have been instances where I've been stuck on what to have for dinner and have looked through my camera roll for inspiration, so I might experiment with that a bit more
A better archiving system might be required for exhibition photos than just my camera roll. I'm not sure I want mycelial musings to become an exhibition review blog, but I'm going to endeavour to bring some of that content on here
Trees are cool. Since coming back from my trip, I've noticed I tend to gravitate towards leafy parks when I need to chill out for whatever reason. I definitely have opinions on what makes a Good Tree, so I might explore that more in the future
There are many ways to interpret and understand the world. And not every photograph needs a reason to exist. But some are nice to have