The Action Radius Syndrome
There comes a day, when you think; back to the same location again? Can't I do that now? Can I still get inspiration to find a new angle? You're getting a bit sick of it ..
Well, grab your stuff, including your tripod, camera bag, lenses, etc. and go on an adventure in the car! But wait a minute .. you can only travel a limited number of kilometers from your home during your busy life on one and the same day. This means that when you are hungry and have to go home because you can't just take a hotel, you are therefore bound to your home base. Nothing wrong with that, but those beautiful photogenic places that you haven't been to and so desperately want to visit are not in your backyard ..
A case of Action Radius Syndrome?
Is there such a thing as an action radius syndrome? An image where we think we are free but this seems to be only an illusion? Probably not, but if it did exist, I would certainly have experienced it during my many trips in the area!
What I think is the action radius syndrome? Simply put: you and I always yearn for those 'exotic' places on the Wadden Islands, the Zeeland coasts or would rather go to the feet of the Eifel. We book long trips, carefully plan our visits to attractions, go to photogenic worldly places like Iceland and the Dolomites like cows in the herd. You and I, as photographers, want to go out. On an adventure, on a journey of discovery. Go where no man has gone before!
but our home port holds us back. We want so badly to spread our wings and go out, but we are stuck at our home base. Stuck in our own backyard. Fixed is our daily routines and stuck to our familiar spots.
One of my Favorite pictures, from the Netherlands; Kinderdijk during Illumination week
They are not as tempting as those picturesque landscapes with stormy cloudy skies. Not as soothing as shell-covered, half-dried mud flats that show themselves on the low water. Not as sweltering as when the sun's rays pierce the dune grass and the winds blow over the vast beaches, leaving behind tiny dunes that take the shape of the endless deserts on the Sahara in Morocco. Not as exciting as the peaks of the matterhorn, the Himalayas or the Kilimanjaro. No, our own interior is flat, simple and fully built.
The Adventure!
That image of adventure, the unattainable, the photogenic… What if that image we created of it also turns out to be just an image? That the moment is just a moment and that the circumstances in those special places never really do justice to the image we have created? Then all hope and fantasy is for nothing? No, it is often really beautiful, beautiful and unimaginably beautiful. Because isn't this also someone else's backyard? Doesn't the person who lives nearby and in those circumstances have exactly the same problem as you and me, while he or she really lives in that genius place?
The grass is always greener on the other side. That seems to be playing tricks on us here too. Especially in photography, the brief snapshot of a quick print is timeless. Timeless because the image is still and captured forever.
Photo made during a ride back home, in my area
The Backyard
When you can find yourself in exotic places, that seems like a victory (and yes, it often is), because you see nature, culture, and the seasons in a completely different way. But that click on your camera is and remains only 1 short moment. A fraction of a second. Or 30, if you make a long expo ;). However, that's not why you should venture out. It is just a proof to everyone of what you went through at the time. A moment. Just a wrinkle in time. Isn't it strange that we think we've been photographed in our own backyard? Those moments we want to get from so far away. We are able to discover much more about the environment, the people, the locations and certainly also the influences of the seasons, the weather conditions and the special moments of, for example, a starry shower, a red moon or an epic sunset.
So, in the precious time we have, try not just to live out the unknown and unattainable. Also enjoy the beauty in your own environment. In any case, I have come to appreciate it much more in the last 2 years and, by organizing my free time well, I have been able to take beautiful pictures of the Netherlands, Germany and other surrounding European countries, which are easily accessible. Hopefully, during the mushroom season, you will get down on your knees more often and pull out the macro lens, or next time you will portray your own pet in your photos!
Hope to see you again soon
Rudolfo Dalamicio
