Hello max!! long time no talk - so great to connect here again tbh haha.

To add my views into the mix, I think that (and I might be wrong) what Jie Ying really was getting at was this: in life, moments exist as a zero-sum game; if one is too fixated with getting the perfect photo of a particular moment, he/she will never be able to enjoy it as much as he/she should (ie. living in the moment).

As a photographer, however, your role is entirely different! You role is to take that perfect photo of others, and that act in and of itself gives you joy, and imbues your moment(s) with substantive value. In this scenario, it is no longer a zero-sum. in fact, it becomes a positive-sum., for you.

So I feel that there really isn't anything to disagree on - photos, as well as the act of taking photos, just mean two different things to the two of you. You two also probably differ in regard to the things/activities that truly make your moments in life memorable. But all that is fine! That's the beauty of life isn't it haha - its this subjectivity that renders life so multifaceted and multidimensional, and also one that everyone can find a place in if you look hard enough.

And tbh i really resonate with JY's sharing because sometimes when we desire that perfect photo so badly, our mood gets affected because let's face it - it is impossible to capture perfection, because it doesn't exist. So us being humans, what should actually be a really happy and carefree moment may turn into a really angsty and/or stressful one. That chase - or obsession - for and toward perfect moments to capture perfect memories, is what really causes this photo-taking impairment for so many others.

Its honestly really great that you dont experience it this way, but the truth is many people - myself included, do. and I think the first step for us is the acknowledgement that this is really toxic, and that we should probably not fixate on that end (which i think is what JY eventually realised too at the end of her passage).

but i really really enjoyed your read max, and like i said - this is exactly what makes life really beautiful. everyone's experience is just different from the next person's.