Say cheese!
As the grandfather of the cutest 2-year-old on Earth…oh wait, let me show you. Nope, can’t get him to do his cutest things on camera.
Have you noticed that?
Everyone seems to whip out their cellphone camera to record every little thing of interest. But the moment you do that in front of anyone age two or older, they stop doing what they were doing naturally and assume a pose for posterity.
Every time my grandson erupts in his infectious giggles, I grab my phone and…gone. When we put on music and he starts dancing and “conducting” it, I begin to video him, but he immediately stops.
Fortunately, my wife also sees him do cute things. But neither of us is an impartial observer, so even her corroboration isn’t enough to prove my claim.
There is a name for this phenomenon, of course: the “observer effect,” which is apparently an extension of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.
Nobel prize-winning quantum physicist Werner Heisenberg proved that the mere act of measuring particles at the quantum level inevitably affects those particles, making it impossible to be certain of both their position and momentum at the same time.
When applied to larger-than-quantum people — perhaps especially 2-year-olds — I think it means we can never record our best moments together. Our human connection is what makes those moments beautiful, and pulling out a cellphone breaks that connection.
In a variation on the theme, something older humans are likely to do in front of a camera is to be on our best behavior.
If we know we’re being recorded, we may stifle our yawns, stop grimacing and wave with a smile, put down that delicate item, open the door for another person and, in short, engage in whatever behavior we would prefer to be remembered for.
I suppose that’s a good thing. Those who believe they are always being watched “from Above” are (presumably) more likely to be on their best behavior even behind closed doors.
Ironically, perhaps, at a time when the number of Americans who report “no religious affiliation” on surveys is at an all-time high, technology has introduced an “eye in the sky” that’s always watching us in the form of ubiquitous security cameras.
At least one study has shown that when such cameras are visible, they reduce the incidence of crime. Unfortunately, they also may reduce the incidence of cute behavior by children.
I am an amateur photographer — or was back in my youth, when I traveled around Europe carrying dozens of rolls of film in my backpack.
I discovered then that I could interact with my surroundings, whether natural or man-made, in one of two ways. I could either stand and take it all in, trying to pay attention to the details, feel the overall effect, sear the image in my memory, and take that feeling with me on my travels.
Or I could fiddle constantly with my camera, taking shots from every angle, switching between my wide-angle and telephoto lenses, trying different shutter speeds to improve or blur the depth of field, all hoping to come out of the experience with a cool shot I could blow up and frame on a wall back home.
Can you guess which approach I took most often? Yes, my favorite photos from those years are proudly framed on the walls of our home. And I do love looking at them.
But I have to admit, I hardly remember being in those places when I took those shots. My camera was there, but where was I?
Well, one good thing about my method of recording my travels for posterity is that I could count on the places not changing on me just because I took out my camera.
As for my grandson, I have come to love just being with him and enjoying every moment. And he really is the cutest toddler on Earth. You’ll just have to believe me.
