After finishing the first season of Tamayura Hitotose and watching a few episodes of the sequel, it showed the little things of life as Sawatari Fu becomes interested into photography. While watching the show, I felt that photography has something special for the fact that photos can capture special moments in life along with having the power to change someone’s life. (Image Source)
In Tamayura, aside from the whole “keep enjoying what you like doing” message, it also shows the special aspects of photography such as capturing memories and looking back at them several years later. As shown, Fu became interested in taking pictures after looking at the family photos that her father took. This inspired her to take up photography. I think the same can apply to most hobbies in real life as it can shape ones future. To me, I enjoy playing around with computers and technology, so I eventually decided to go focus my studies on that in college.
It’s true that looking at a photo can remind you a special something you did during the past such as a birthday or a special vacation. For instance, in a recent episode of Tamayura More Aggressive, Fu and her friends finally finds the cherry blossom tree that her father planted in a park. Fu’s father planned to take her there when she got into middle school. While the tree grew, the special part of taking a photo is that the moment is captured forever. This is the main reason Fu is taking pictures on a constant basis just like her Father because nothing stays the same forever. This is also why I took pictures of what I did on vacation so I won’t forget it years from now.
While Fu uses an old camera that requires her to manually focus and use film compared to Riho and Kanae who uses digital camera, it just shows that the camera one uses doesn’t matter, but rather how the person takes the shot. Sure, the debate between digital and film has been going for years since the former keeps getting cheaper along with better image capabilities. However, the saying goes, “the camera does not make the photographer.” Sure, Riho and Kanae are sporting the latest DSLRs and mirror-less cameras from Nikon and Pentax, but it doesn’t mean that Fu and Komachi are less of a photographer because they are using film. While Fu uses an old Rollei 35S camera her father used, her photography skills eventually got better and she even achieved the same feeling that her father’s photos give. Furthermore, she gets a lot of compliments from other people and her family, showing that using film doesn’t make a person less of a photographer than a person using a digital camera.
Lastly, photography can make one become more social as we seen with Fu throughout the first season. Initially, she was a shy girl before taking on the hobby of photography. As time goes on, she became acquainted with her friends, become friends with a professional photographer named Riho, made a photo exhibit and eventually formed a photography club. It’s clear that taking pictures made her become more open, thus being “more aggressive” as she comes in terms with her deceased father and possibly walk in his footsteps. Even so, the social impact of taking pictures can also be seen in other photography oriented anime like Photo Kano, which the main character becomes sociable and begins to develop an intimate relationship with a girl he chooses.
Overall, while Tamayura has a lot of heartwarming and cute moments, it shows how special photography is. Each picture tells a story, which one can come back to and remember that particular moment again. Not only that, it doesn’t matter what camera one uses to take that picture. While I own a Canon PowerShot S110, it’s not the most amazing cameras out there compared to the more expensive Canons, Nikons or even Leica, but it gives me more creative control over the photo like optical zoom, ISO settings and better low light performance compared to the camera on my iPhone 4S. Even so, it’s undeniable that photography is powerful as people takes pictures of something that is happening in front of them and upload it to Twitter or Instantgram it.
With that, in what ways photography is special to you? Do you feel that the type of camera matters in capturing memories or not? Feel free to share what you use to take your own pictures.
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