I don’t take as many pictures as I used to, but I take many many times more videos than I ever have before. I take videos every day, multiple times a day and only ever of one subject: Roby, of course. I could speculate about why that is, and I will. Most simply we stay in a lot more and I don’t often feel like making artful images of Roby, I’d rather just hang out with her. When I do take the camera out it’s hanky and in the way, I can just whip the phone out and take a picture real fast and tuck it away without so much intrusion. But that doesn’t answer why I take videos instead of pictures.

I think when I was taking photographs of friends and Abby and family I was interested in applying my eye to the experience. I wanted to exert some degree of aesthetic control to the experience and to the relationship. I wanted to comment on it somehow, to enhance it, to beautify it.

I don’t feel as though there’s much to enhance or beautify about Roby: she’s perfect in every way. The best thing I can do with regards to documenting my time with her is be honest and complete about it, that means sound and motion. 

Of course using an iphone is a choice, it makes the quality just O.K. I could enhance the whole thing with a nice little microphone and a proper camera. The x100v I use to make the majority of my pictures these days has a video function, I just don’t know a dang thing about it, and plus I’ve got to edit and figure it all out. 

Maybe I’ll lean into that with all of my ample free time.