Recently one of my relatives passed away and the whole family gathered for the funeral. It was a sad day for me, I had know that relative all my life. When the funeral was about to start, one of the guests pulled out a digital camera and started taking pictures of the coffin. I have to admit that this might have been one of the most bizarre moments in my life. I was sitting right behind the person who took the pictures and could just watch in disbelief as the camera made that “click” sound and the picture of the coffin appeared on the screen. Maybe the picture was for someone who could not attend a funeral but even that seemed like a very odd idea to me.
I usually carry my camera with me all the time and there is hardly anything I would not take a pictures of, but it has never entered my mind to capture something as sad and depressing as the coffin at a funeral. I just can’t see any point in that. Is this a way to mourn the dead? Or is it just to satisfy curiosity.
We can capture every moment, but I don’t think we need to. Some moments are so special and intimate, they are simply to strong for the lens of a camera.