mementos

today a journalist asked me:

HER: so XXXX, when you travel, do you like to take a lot of pictures?

ME: (pause)

HER: (pause) do you like to-

ME: yes. well - yes. i do. but not for me. for my family and friends. i think it's kind of an attempt to get them to feel, you know, to share the essence of a place with them. a gorgeous mosque, a moment in a festival, you know, whatever. uh, i remember once i was walking through the muslim part of granada and i got to this amazing lookout point at this ancient plaza full of pigeons and old people, uh, and it had this view of the alhambra rising from a million completely white little houses. like this sea of houses, and forest, with the alhambra sitting there like... a fucking god. i looked at my camera, and i had no film left. my film was done, i used like three rolls while i was in la alhambra itself, and the rest of it was in guadix, which is like an hour's drive away. so, this experience, which was this completely transcendent experience, where i was like, you know, jules winfield, i felt the touch of god, i had no way of sharing what that felt like with my mother or my father or my brother. do you know what i mean? i don't know. but anyway yeah, that's why i like to take pictures. i mean i honestly don't even know. my memory isn't too good, maybe it's for myself. what was the question?

forget that answer. i should have said yes, i do like to take pictures, things are beautiful and i want to have them, to own them. i guess that makes me a hypocrite.