Check this out. Nice view of pristine Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand, on the surface of which is a reflection of the distant Southern Alps.
What’s curious about this is it took probably just a few seconds for a photographer to pic a spot, adjust his camera, and click to take this shot. J.R.R. Tolkien, on the other hand, to paint the same picture in one’s mind, would have expended a long paragraph composed probably of just under one thousand words, written, proof-read, and rewritten to his satisfaction; a process that would have taken at least 30 minutes.
That probably explains why in these days of advanced technology that serves both the desktop and digital camera industries, there is still only about one writer for every 20 aspiring (read: amateur) photographers. Writing takes a lot more work than photography, and admittedly, a greater degree of wit, imagination, and patience. While a good photographer sees things that normal humans often miss while equipped with equally acute eyes, a writer has to record such things in his psyche and make it appear almost identically in the minds of his readers through words.
Me? I probably will never understand photography. But a weaver of words I could always relate to, and appreciate. The truth is I lament a little bit about the ratio I mentioned above (exempli gratia Multiply, sadly, is sorely lacking in the better blogs that enrich the mind). But hey, the world needs both wordsmiths and picture crafters. One provides satiety of the soul while the other delights the windows of the mind. I just wish the ratio could be a little more even…
Oh well, I’m going to bed now. Good night.
(A little trivia: New Zealand’s Southern Alps is the actual location of Middle-earth’s Misty Mountains, as seen in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy)
