06/06/2026
Finding Time Through the Lens
I feel I got into photography late in life because, as I have gotten older, my life experiences have lessened and become more mundane. This shift creates the unsettling feeling that life is passing by much faster. Faced with a brain that is no longer experiencing as many new things, I subconsciously took up photography to find and record fresh experiences, ultimately using it as a way to slow down the rapid pace of my life.
The "Autopilot" Realization
I truly came to understand this phenomenon after watching a video titled "Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpoVSR-9qNI) on the YouTube channel Ink Explainer. The video perfectly articulated why my perception of time was accelerating: it is deeply connected to how the human brain processes memories and routines.
When we are young, experiences like the first day of school, learning to ride a bike, or seeing snow for the first time are entirely novel. The brain records these moments in rich, dense detail, and the effort required to process this new information makes the subjective experience of time feel slower and more expansive.
However, as we age, we fall into predictable routines, commuting the same routes, doing similar tasks, and seeing the same environments. To save energy, the adult brain essentially enters an "autopilot" mode. It starts chunking repeated days together and ignoring the rich details of mundane life.
Because I was forming fewer distinct "data points" or new memories, it felt as though months or years were simply vanishing in the blink of an eye.
How the Camera Rewires My Experience
Taking up photography actively short-circuits this autopilot mechanism. It serves as a mechanical and artistic way to force my brain to keep marveling at the world.
Here is how the process works for me:
Forcing Mindfulness:
Taking a good photograph requires a person to be deeply present while scanning their environment for interesting subjects, geometry, and colors.
Creating Novelty from the Mundane:
It creates novelty from the mundane by training the eye to find the extraordinary in ordinary places, such as noticing the perfect interplay of light and shadow on a familiar neighborhood street.
Anchoring Memories:
Pressing the shutter creates a tangible timestamp that anchors memories. This gives the brain a distinct, detailed memory to hold onto, which prevents the day from blurring into the rest of the week.
As Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, "To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life".
The Call of the Wild
While photography in general helps, I generally love wildlife photography more than anything. For me, this specific practice becomes an even more powerful anchor for time. It acts as the ultimate antidote to a routine, autopilot existence.
Absolute Unpredictability: Animals do not follow predictable scripts or human schedules. Every single encounter is entirely unique and novel, feeding the brain the rich, fresh experiences it needs to perceive time as slower and more expansive.
Hyper-Focused Presence: Waiting for the perfect shot of a bird taking flight or a deer stepping into a clearing requires intense, quiet observation and a hyper-focused presence that routine life rarely demands.
Capturing Fleeting Timestamps: While a street or building will likely look the same tomorrow, a wild animal's exact movement in a specific beam of light is a completely unrepeatable, once-in-a-lifetime event. Capturing that fleeting timestamp provides the brain with a highly distinct memory to hold onto.
Ultimately, I am deliberately trading the predictable routines of everyday life for the thrilling patience of the wild. I took a compelling psychological theory and turned it into a practical, artistic tool to keep my days from blurring together.
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