Limiting Photos

Definitely. I rarely take photos. My husband takes them so if I want an album, I use his.

Any of you thinking the same way?

No.

Any of you thinking the same way?

Yes.

I long ago reduced my photo taking by about 99% because 1) I was missing the experience and 2) nobody else is remotely interested in seeing my holiday snaps (even if they smile politely).

A once in a lifetime travel experience in Europe now a frequent, even annual, trip?

My aim going forward is fewer and better.

But I still love having photos to look at after the trip is over.

ScandiFan you need a husband to do it, then you can have it both ways.

I am a tourist when I am a tourist. Heck, I am nothing less than an extended tourist now. So heck yes I take photos. Not a lot and I try and reduce it to "the good ones". Who the heck in Hackensack, NJ would understand the incrediable moment when I realized that I had walked into Mostar in the middle of the RedBull Bridge Diving Competition .... you gotta have a video of those dang fools leaping off to be able to share the moment. Or the Vatican when JPII came out and spoke to us. Dang right I have the photo. Or the night trian in Kyiv in the blowing snow .....

Ok, how many people actually go back and look at those hundreds of photos they've taken? Who is going to want them once you're gone? Answers, 1, rarely, and as the years go by never. 2. No one!

I learned a long time ago just take a few pictures of family in the place visited just to document. Also, of anything unique, which becomes less and less over the years.

A bit off topic but still photo related, some of the picture taking has gotten out of hand for some. Seeing people, mostly young females posing inappropriately in places of worship or solemn places of remembrance, etc, is very annoying...... I must be getting old.

Now, get off my lawn! :)

Any of you thinking the same way?

Sometimes. A couple of years ago (I guess almost 5 years ago!) we were in Avignon during the Festival Avignon (music and musical theatre festival). One afternoon, I took a walk by myself--leaving my phone in our room with my family to be "in the moment". I happened upon this woman performing opera in the papal square. It was magical to experience and just "be present". Her voice was enchanting and the accoustics remarkable. Afterwards, I wished I had had my phone to remember how beautiful her voice sounded, resonating throughout the square.
After this event, I usually carry my phone with me just in case but often try to keep in my pocket so that I can live in the moment.

I still take a lot of snaps, and still use a conventional camera (Canon). Contrary to missing them, sometimes I feel that the lens can capture interesting details - especially in zoom - that would otherwise be missed. Same with some rare moments: remembering them isn't exactly the same as snapping them when they happen. My DH has a rotating slideshow from our Apple photos file on his ipad and enjoys seeing what pops up every day! :O)

I used to belong to a since-closed travel site that allowed us to post our own snaps along with recos and travelogs for things to do/see, and interesting background about them so I used them for that. You can still post your own on Fodor's forum, although I've not done it.

I like taking photos. I have an art background and worked as a graphic designer for a while, so photography is something I can continue to use to keep being creative. There is something wonderful about seeing a lovely scene I can save for the future. I have a lousy memory, and capturing something beautiful in a photo is one way of bringing back those moments.

I still have photos of my first trip to Europe back in 1996, and occasionally I'll go through them and remember that wonderful trip and how excited I was. Or my trip to Turkey in 2007, when I managed to snap a photo of three old women in their peasant outfits walking through a dusty small town in Cavusin (yes, I asked them first).

There is nothing wrong with taking a photo to preserve that moment, just like there is nothing wrong with not taking a photo. I know a plenty of people who don't particularly like to take photos, and quite honestly, some are not that good at it. If you don't want to, that's fine. And I will never suggest that you should do otherwise, but let me have my photos without guilt so that I can enjoy them for decades to come. 😊

And by the way, you don't have to save all those hundreds or thousands of photos. You can go through and remove the ones you don't like. And yes, I know that once I am gone, the photos will probably be gone to some digital cemetery. That's fine. I don't take photos for other people. I take them for myself.

Ok, how many people actually go back and look at those hundreds of photos they've taken?

This one reason I strongly recommend folks get a digital picture frame.

We have two - a large one with a permanent home in a place we see it frequently, and a smaller "travel" one we bring with us on our RV travels. We run them in 5sec random slideshow mode, and we get all sorts of joy from them.

Right now, posting from our RV, I can look at past travel photos and remember (or struggle to remember) where/when we took the photo. It is a great conversation piece for my wife and I.

This one reason I strongly recommend folks get a digital picture
frame.

Tom, we were doing the same our flatscreen TV: downloaded fave shots to a thumbdrive that plugged into the back of the thing. The cable company changed their equipment awhile back and we haven't figured out how to make it work with the new remote. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted, and turned a big black thing on the wall into a rotating piece of art.

Kate, I just bought a new TV a few months ago which uses Google for streaming, and I have the screen saver set to my Google Photos, so they pop up on my screen. You might check whatever system you use on your TV. I think Roku has the same thing.

Although I guess if you have cable, it might be different. You can always call the company and ask them.

Thanks, Mardee. Our photos aren't in google photos; they're in (Apple) Photos and shared across a couple of our devices. We might have sign up for Apple TV to make it happen. Just one more thing.... Technology gives me gas. :O(
(We have Xfinity)

Not in the slightest.

'To each their own.' For me, seeing and capturing the moment is the experience. To witness a beam of sunlight pouring into a dark, gloomy Romanesque church and wait patiently for the stooped, elderly nun to walk into the bright pool is the holy grail. I have always enjoyed looking at the world through a viewfinder. I suppose it pleases my senses to 'arrange' the 3-dimensional world on a 2d plane. I studied cinematography in college, still practice it professionally, and lately share whatever I know with young people. On another thread about what people enjoy photographing, I wrote shadows, shapes, and patterns. Travel lets me satisfy that urge, and I will keep hauling the 8lb kit around for as long as these aging bones allow!

alomaker, very beautiful. Thank you.

I think we are even more likely to take photographs now because it helps us recall our shared experiences. Many times we retrieve them even years later on my 17" laptop when trying to share a memories and provoke remembrances.

I do the collection of images from my camera, my phone, his phone, and other sources into daily files organized by days within each trip. It's a practice I've developed through my years in IT. I can zero in on anything immediately. It's easier maintaining backups that way.

I studied photography within my art education and BFA programs so I'm adept at keeping the most compositionally interesting and most representative images. These are concise succinct collections.

I discovered the photos were of great use and interest during the covid shutdown of travel. That's when my creative juices found an outlet creating some large scale reflections of our shared travels. We've got some really nice pieces adorning our walls and some include our favorite portraits of ourselves.

We find many people interested in our travel photography - some friends/relatives on FB but also at get-togethers nearly everyone wants to see our most recent trips. Of course our enthusiasm probably contributes to that but maybe the quality of work and depth of recall might be the key factor.

After all.... you are creating memories. Why not find some tools to help bring them back to life for you? Many times we find ourselves wishing we had taken a few more....

There's a price you pay for every photo or video you take, and that is- the moment itself. The act of preserving that moment takes your attention away from the moment itself. For example, I was in St. Marks Square in Venice, in the evening, and the musicians were playing at all the cafe's and instead of just standing there and absorbing it fully, I yanked out my iphone and made a video. I watched it later and wasn't worth it.

I'm getting older, and I think from now on I'd like to propel myself forward, and be in the moment, and not try so hard to preserve my experiences in anything but my own memory. It's difficult in this age of technology when your phone can do everything: it can plan your day, it can guide you to where you want to go, it can tell you everything about what you are seeing, and it can take pictures and videos. When Mark Twain went to Europe, he didn't have any of that. He just experienced it.

Mr. E, 🙏!!

I am not a great photographer by any means, but I do love taking photos, then putting the phone down and enjoying whatever it is we are doing. It doesn't have to be either or. I also love going back and looking at past photos on my phone or laptop and actually do this often. I do try to pare down the number of photos either during or after a trip just for space, but that doesn't always happen.

My photos are my memories. I delete and edit every night to keep only the best and I usually make a photo book of them after the trip. They really help me get through long Minnesota winters. I also put my cell phone away and celebrate the moment. I think I have the best of both worlds-the experience & memories.

how many people actually go back and look at those hundreds of photos
they've taken?

I do....often. We have 6-8 x 10 frames in our kitchen and another 6 in our living room and we update those frames with one or two new photos after every trip. For me the joy isn't just the experience while there, it's the memories after.

On another note I really enjoy when people on this Forum provide links to their photos.

There’s nothing wrong with taking a photo and enjoying the moment too. The two are not mutually exclusive. Take the photo, then enjoy the surroundings for however long you want (unless you’re on a tour and on a time schedule).

I love taking photos. It’s one of my main hobbies. But, I’m old school and use a camera rather then a phone and I don’t do selfies or posing or any of that.

I believe it is possible to take photos and partake in the experience as well.

Lots of people enjoy seeing the photos but even if they didn’t I enjoy them.

So, I guess we don’t think the same. That’s ok.

I do take an old point-and-shoot camera along so as to leave my phone secure, but end up taking only a few photos of things that are of particular interest to me. My wife takes the majority of photos. The end product is one of those Shutterfly albums, with the best of the photos, to share with any interested persons. And maybe one really good shot to use on a Christmas card. But I'll admit that i haven't gone back to look at photos of the last several trips.

I love to capture the beauty of nature and landscapes in a photograph. I then hang prints in my office (at my job). I don’t swap them out after every trip, it depends on the trip and the scenery. Looking at them while I’m working brings me peace and joy that’s for sure.

What alomaker, silas marner, Kate, Mardee, jaimeelsabio, et al, said.

Where is it written that one cannot take photos AND experience the moment? Taking photos helps me to experience and appreciate the moment to an even greater degree, PLUS I have the added benefit of having the photos to look at and appreciate later (and I DO look at them).

Taking photos helps me to notice details that I would probably miss otherwise. In fact, when we look through our photos later, my husband often remarks, "I didn't notice that!" He has now begun to take more photos of his own.

Perhaps consider that not everyone is like you, and not everyone's brains process input in the same way as does yours. Maybe it's because I'm neurodivergent, but framing photos helps me to hone in on elements of an experience that would get lost for me in the general, figurative "noise" otherwise. I don't feel I miss out on anything at all when I'm taking lots of photos. My experience is the opposite.

Ok, how many people actually go back and look at those hundreds of photos they've taken?

I do quite often. Lot's of photographs through the years of ironwork and construction details or of museum artifacts. Lot's of beautiful landscapes. Things I want to go back to and recall.

Who is going to want them once you're gone?

I don't care. I am not taking pictures for anyone else, they are purely for my enjoyment.

There's a price you pay for every photo or video you take, and that is- the moment itself. The act of preserving that moment takes your attention away from the moment itself.

Not a sentiment that I share.

Where is it written that one cannot take photos AND experience the moment?

+1 This

Any of you thinking the same way?

No. I am able to multitask. I can take pictures and enjoy the moment at the same time.
After a trip, I cull my photos for the best ones and put those on my digital photo frame. I see them everyday.
I delete any of the bad ones.
also, my digital photos include location metadata. So in my apple journal, when I upload selected photos to a daily log, I can see the location on the apps’ world wide map.
I love looking at the world wide map and zooming to a location and seeing the selected photos there. It brings back memories from that moment.

FYI, I do not stare at my phone as I walk along. And why is it your business if other people (mostly young people) do it? As long as they aren’t running into you. If you don’t like taking photos, don’t do it, but don’t judge the rest of us who can do two things at once.

I enjoy taking photos for the same reason many of the pps do. And agree that regarding experience, it isn't either/or. It can definitely be both. And I often go back to revisit old photos as a prompt to memories of the occasion (something that may be of greater necessity as I age YMMV). Will anyone after me want to see them? Maybe maybe not. That wasn't really the reason I took them. I do know that I cherish the photos I have of family members, going back to the early 1900s.

I noticed at the Masters golf tournament, they ban cell phones.

I believe that a couple of the reasons for this is to avoid phone noises that could disrupt the players' concentration, as well as to restrict access to photos and videos of the action for copyright purposes.

There’s no right or wrong way. Each person individually determines where that sweet spot lies between taking lots of photos & not. Traveling solo independently is a huge benefit because I can take the morning photos with no people in them, or I often wait 5 minutes at a spot during the day to frame the photo perfectly without or intentionally with people in it. During tours that hasn’t been possible. I also review my photos while waiting for dinner to arrive (if solo) & delete any inferior ones. Otherwise, I do it before going to sleep.

I do stop taking photos when I feel I’ve captured the essence of a city. Since I often am at a place 1-2 nights, I’m typically stopping by noon the second day.

As a widow, please take photos of your spouse! - not the wooden posed ones but enjoying those special moments during a trip. I have a small “photo a day” on my end table from Social Print Studio that’s designed to be reused each year, and many of the photos are of him or us from our trips. Lots of happy smiles remembering our day together someplace special again!

My friends continue to comment in person a lot (one again last Sunday!) about how my travel photos are beautiful & give them the chance to “travel with me” when I post 4-5 from each city I visit. And during 2020, I picked some for enlarged canvas prints on an office wall. They make me smile when I glance at them.

I started sketching a few years ago. It’s amazing how much more you notice when pausing to capture something of interest for 5-10 minutes!

I'm with Laurie Beth and others - take some pics but mostly have the phone in my pocket; review and edit each night, saving just the best; make a photo book. I have a prized shelf of Shutterfly books that I enjoy reviewing, and will enjoy even more when I'm not able to travel. Also agree to include pics of myself as well as my husband and others. I suspect the scenery matters less and the faces matter more, the older I get.

I really, really want to reduce the number of photos I take. Our last couple of trips with only the phone, I’ve taken too many mindless snapshots rather than the interesting scenes with the angles, lines and shadows that take the photo out of the ordinary. It gets too hard to sift through 1,000 or more mediocre snaps. Our walls our covered with my travel photos but many of them were taken with something more than my phone. For our fall September Switzerland trip I’m taking along my small LUMIX and will focus on, well, focusing and being more intentional with what I shoot. Anything to spend a lot less time staring at the damn little screen, which I do far too much of every day.

When I post travel pictures on Facebook I get 30-40 likes as well as comments about how they appreciate my sharing them. I am a far cry from a pro, and only using my phone, but some folks do enjoy them. And those who aren't interested can scroll on by.

Back when I used to travel in the 17th century, I'd have to pay a pretty penny to a guy like Rembrandt to get a decent picture. Nowadays, my iPhone with the help of a little AI and whoa, my very own Nightwatch!

Still, I kinda miss standing or sitting still for hours while the old boy painted me.

I understand how so many folks love taking photos. Personally I'm in the camp of those who wish that maybe there was a little less of it. But to each their own!

Happy travels.

I take a lot of pictures , using a mirrorless Canon DSLR . At home , I load them into my computer which is connected to a large Samsung TV. Watching them on a regular basis brings back memories of fifteen years of travel , and a huge collection of art from the multitude of museums I've visited . I never tire of this

The question is not either or, in most cases you can have both.

The majority of people do not know what a photo is. They do snapshots and call it a photo - OK for them. But doing a real photo is art and sometimes hard work, also with digital cameras. And the good message for the masses is that doing a snapshot and enjoying the moment is possible. Memorizing it is a different topic for human beings.

In Scandinavia forums I often recommend to carry a good travel zoom camera with a high optical focus (30x) because otherwise you will be disappointed by some of the snapshots.

I’m not artistic and my photos are usual pretty bad. I only take a few. I try a get a couple of decent ones of the kids standing next to something iconic to send to grandparents but beyond that I try not to think about it too much.

Its a good topic for coversation and introspection, but lets not let if veer off track from what one would personally do to what others are doing with negative connotation attached.

Go ahead, take all the photos you want. If it’s your heart’s desire to have things to look back on and enjoy, do it. I will presume that you do it with consideration of those around you and that those around you would show you some courtesy to let you pursue what makes your trip better. By definition, all “snapshots” are “photos”, but not all photos are snapshots. Some of the most famous and impactful photos in history were snapshots. Both serve a purpose or a need of the ones creating them and as such are above ridicule.

Edited:
Mr. E: no difference between a photo and snapshot for me, or not worth a quibble, anyway. Tomato, tomahto, yes?

Any of you thinking the same way?

Despite being a serious amateur shutterbug for close to 60 years I seriously considered giving it up whilst traveling. I can't get on with a mobile phone for serious photography...hard to see in sunlight, need readers to see clearly, lacks the manual controls with which my creative process is inexorably ingrained. I shot film so many years that I approach digital with the same discretion, thus avoiding the glut of images many people struggle with due to the "free" aspect of digital.

But although my kit of one body and four lenses weighs only about 3 kg and fits in a purse-sized bag it's still substantial. And basically nobody apart from ourselves are interested in seeing the images.

What swayed me was someone dealing with a spouse with age-related memory issues, who's found those old travel photos a godsend. So far we're both sharp as proverbial tacks, but who knows what the future may bring. So I'll keep snapping.

I often recommend to carry a good travel zoom camera with a high optical focus (30x) because otherwise you will be disappointed by some of the snapshots.

Cartier-Bresson didn't have a 30x zoom lens and he took some pretty good snapshots.

Kate, at one level the only difference is a feeling of cultural superiority attached to one when compared to the other in one sentence. After 2 university classes in photography and 30 years of architectural photography for marketing I do snapshots now.... sometimes the beauty, the humanity, is in the blur. But I also pay for plane tickets with goats, so .....

Agree! I still take photos, but not as much. I stopped taking photos of anything that can be readily found online. I don't need photos of the Trevi Fountain or the Eiffel Tower. And I'm tired of people in museums taking up all the space in front of the Mona Lisa or Birth or Venus so they can take endless photos. I understand taking photos, but it's out of hand bc of social media.

And don't get me started on birding and photographs. Birdwatching is bird photographing for so many people. If you go to a hotspot during migration, you hear an endless whir of cameras.

I can't get on with a mobile phone for serious photography...hard to
see in sunlight, need readers to see clearly,...

That's the thing I miss about a camera vs. my phone, but I don't miss carrying around my camera. I would never have considered myself even an amateur photographer though, just a guy who enjoyed taking photos who is happy when 1 in 10 turns out as a keeper...maybe 1 in 5 when I had a viewfinder to look through. But even the barely adequate photos bring back memories that make it a worthwhile part of the entire travel experience. And often that happy memory is a selfie with my wife. If I take one thousand photos on a trip it's likely that only 100 don't get deleted, and it's rare I delete a selfie with her. Those ones make me smile.

I stopped taking photos of anything that can be readily found online.

I'm the opposite. I feel like I've accomplished something if I can take an interesting photo of a popular monument or scene. Maybe the light was just perfect at that moment, or the angle just right, or maybe I was surprised by a detail that I was able to capture. In any case, the photo I took is mine and not somebody else's, and I can be proud of that and happy with the memory of the moment.

Photography is my hobby, and I do still take many photos on my trips. But my approach has changed.

I don’t look anymore for the perfect-moment photo. Honestly, if I am enjoying a view or just being and I want that memory with me for a while, I take a photo. May not be the best but I know what it means, it has a story and a memory within it that I will remember and will share with my family. But I don’t take photos to please others, they are my keepsake. And I have returned to old albums when I couldn’t remember a particular detail and there was the photo to bring back that memory.

But I also take time to find the right angle to capture an architectural piece. My photo may not be the full bridge or church ceiling but a particular corner that took my attention.

My evenings during trips are usually going through photos of the day and doing some cleanup to eliminate duplicates or keep a favorite. So when I get home, I don’t have hundreds of it.

And I do go back to my travel photos often.

What alomaker, silas marner, Kate, Mardee, jaimeelsabio, et al, said...

And BB, VAP and everyone else who was so articulate on why they like taking photos. Me, not so articulate about it.

I, too, take photos. I take a couple of snapshots with my phone just to upload and report to my family that I am still alive. For me using my iPhone is not fun, but it will hold a couple of highlights of the day. Using my phone is like shooting blindfolded. I point and hope I have it. Hate those screens and lack of ability to control the photo for me, my eyes. This being said, my son in law takes the most beautiful and artistic photos with his iPhone, quickly, while I get nothing comparable, but I have just as much fun.

I believe I see more with the intent of having a photographer's eye. I am more discerning. At home we have cameras from full frame dslrs to mirrorless to my compact cannon dslr. I love to play and adjust photos with the controls. Mine are all Canons so I have fewer tricks to learn...as the say about teaching an old dog... I digress. When I use my Canon camera, I am wandering by myself taking photos of beautiful light/reflections, architecture or, my favorite, old ruins. Sunsets and empty pathways are also up my alley. I have fun and my photos are not usually where other people are unless I am taking 'snaps' for a particular reason...how to, as in how to at Guedelon. Granted, when traveling by plane, my compact camera is now my buddy due to weight. Although I am pondering taking my mirrorless with lenses to Ireland, but the weight, and I will be with other RS folks. Not alone when I will most want to use it.

I don't mind others taking snaps, but 10 snaps over 5 minutes, blocking others, so people can get the perfect pose in front of a tourist attraction is annoying and selfish. IMO. Or everyone holding their cell phone up in the air to take photos of Mona Lisa, which will suck. A professionally taken postcard of her would be a much better photo.

Our photos aren't in google photos; they're in (Apple) Photos and shared across a couple of our devices. We might have sign up for Apple TV to make it happen.

Kate, It's very easy to transfer photos to Google from Apple. All of my photos begin on my iPhone, like yours, but I have it set up so that they're automatically copied to Google Photos. Once you do that, anything in the future will automatically be saved to Google Photos as well as iCloud. https://support.google.com/photos/answer/10502587?hl=en

Maybe it's because I'm neurodivergent, but framing photos helps me to hone in on elements of an experience that would get lost for me in the general, figurative "noise" otherwise.

BB, that's a very good description and very similar to how I feel sometimes. There's something about focusing in on a subject that makes it more personal to me, rather than just standing there in a crowd staring at a building. I can zoom in on an interesting piece of architecture or design that means something to me.

I take photos with my phone, then every few days upload the best or most interesting ones to a social media site that has been experiencing platform decay over the past few years where my friends, family and acquaintances can see them and react if they wish.

But the biggest value I get from this exercise is on those freezing cold and dark Friday nights in February, where I can scroll back in time and relive the experiences we had.

All of my photos begin on my iPhone

My thanks again, Mardee; you're so helpful! I likely will PM you for further insights but should mention that the only photos on my phone are the ones taken WITH my phone and I don't take many. The bulk (!!!) taken with conventional cameras, reside in Photos on our Imac.

Side note: I am also a retired graphic designer. Spent some studio time art directing food photography, and some of that was on film and back before monitors; what you saw in the back of the camera was upside down and backwards...and I'm a little dyslexic to begin with. Oy.

" That's the thing I miss about a camera vs. my phone, but I don't miss carrying around my camera. " Allan's comment ( above ) definitely touches a nerve . I felt the same way after some years carrying my Canon 60 D . Around 2018 - 2019 having talked with a fellow traveler ( and musician ) on a lake boat in Stresa , I switched to the Canon DSLR I now use . Half the weight , half the size , and at the end of the day my neck doesn't feel ;ike I've been wearing a dog collar all day

I still want to take a few photos, but not so many. If I spend a month in a place, I think 100 photos should be enough. That's about 3 per day.

Ok, how many people actually go back and look at those hundreds of photos they've taken?

Guilty.

Just showed my 12 year old grandson, who is doing a school project report of Rome, pictures I took when I visited. He was awed by the fact I saw the Colosseum in person and all the different pictures I took. So glad I had those photos. 😊

That's about 3 per day.

Before digital, film took up a lot of space. We were forced to limit ourselves to about 6 or 7 shots each per day. Otherwise, we'd be carrying way too much film. Not to mention that one had to use x-ray proof bags or pray that the security people would hand exam the film cansiters.

I'm late to this convo but it's timely as I just started a giant project to consolidate decades of electronic photos stored in multiple places into one cloud storage service. It includes both family photos and travel photos and there are SO many of them, but it has been a delightful trip down memory lane. Do I care if no one wants to look at them after I am gone? Nope. Do I care if I see them again? Yes, absolutely as I really do enjoy revisiting trips.

What I noticed about my recent travels is that the images are much more tightly curated. I spend time in the evenings reflecting on my travel day and writing a blog, and tidying up photos is part of that process. I have plenty of experiences and moments not documented on camera and I reflect on those, too. But I wouldn't want limit my photo taking to just a couple per day while I'm out and about because that requires time that I could spend on enjoying views and experiences. But trimming down the memories to a handful at the end of the day is easily and painlessly done in the digital age. As has been said, to each their own.

Sometimes concentrating on a photo means that you aren't focussed on what's happening in front of you. When I was out seeing bands a lot when I was younger I'd often have a camera. I found that when I was concentrating on taking pictures I didn't really hear the music. When you've got a pass for the pit, it's often "first three songs, no flash". I also tended to stick to that when I was in the front row at small club shows too, if I was there to hear the band. Same goes for when I was VJ'ing, triggering video clips to accompany a DJ or live show. I didn't really hear the music, bar concentrating on banging keys on the downbeat. It's hard to take in two things at once.

what you saw in the back of the camera was upside down and backwards

Since you mention it, a Sinar 10x8 camera is a good way to limit your photos. A double darkslide with two sheets of film really makes you concentrate on making a photo count. It's how some landscape photographers (that use film obviously) work. Same goes for 36 shots on a roll of 35mm, or 12 on 120 film, to a lesser degree. Digital is free, as GPB mentioned up thread. Maybe the OP needs to go back to film :) Concentrates the mind.

I think people who believe their experience of travel is diminished by cell phone use and picture taking should reduce or eliminate those activities. And further, they should refrain from passing judgment on others of us who don't follow the same course of conduct.

Started with film, not digital. On occasion I still leaf through some of those old photo albums.

Went to digital with a mid-range SLR with multiple lenses, etc. for both still and video. Gave the cameras away as they are simply too heavy to carry around.

I now travel with my Meta Glasses. No reaching for my phone. Just touch the frame or give a voice command. Since they can record audio with video, I get some really strange looks as I narrate the scene I am viewing. I also find that I enjoy using YouTube to revisit the major attractions in cities to which I have travelled. I find that the influencers on YouTube do a better job than I at capturing the highlights.

An interesting experience last year: We were standing in Munich's Marienplatz waiting for the glockenspiel to perform. Everyone was holding their phone at arm's length to take photos and videos. The German police broadcast their emergency warning regarding a possible bomb threat at Oktoberfest and thousands of phones lit-up simultaneously.

jkh, I have a question about your Meta glasses. Has anyone ever objected to your wearing those? I have heard that some people will confront you if you are wearing smart glasses and either ask you if you are recording them, or ask you to stop recording them. What has been your experience?

I have a question about your Meta glasses. Has anyone ever objected to
your wearing those?

I have never been approached by an individual objecting to my Meta glasses. I have purposely not worn them to venues the prohibit photography/videos to avoid any issues.

I think the questions here are good ones. Some people responded as if the question was asking you to deny yourself taking any photos. That is not what I get from the question. I think we are being asked to reflect on whether we spend too much of our time while traveling looking for a great photo, and whether or not that detracts from the experience of being there.
So I appreciate asking myself what is most meaningful to me, adding to my thousands of photos, or really seeing, hearing etc. what is in front of and around me.
Also, the question of getting in other people’s way. Are we blocking someone’s else’s view or walking into them to get that all “important” photo.
I had someone fall on me once, as she went over a curb and landed on me, to get that “important” photo.

I believe that a couple of the reasons for this is to avoid phone
noises that could disrupt the players' concentration, as well as to
restrict access to photos and videos of the action for copyright
purposes.

That may be true, but I have heard from people who have attended The Masters and they all say one of the really special things about it is the no cell phones policy. Everyone is in the moment. No one is watching the action through the lens of their phone.

Nope, we both enjoy taking pictures, but they really are mostly for us. I just looked at my 10x10 Shutterfly picture book from our trip to Pompeii & Naples in December, we LOVE it! The pictures (taken mostly with an iPhone 12) blow up beautifully to one flat, open 10x10" page. That's good enough. So yeah, we still take pictures. But we don't hang out long behind our phones. I noticed on this last trip that we (almost) didn't have enough pictures for an album! Perfect amount.

No one is watching the action through the lens of their phone.

I know my anecdote about concert photography in a post above isn't particularly relevant to travel, but the same phenomenon is common at any concert you go to these days. It's an absolute sea of phone screens in the dark from people filming. So many people consume real life live events through their phone screens.

I saw at show by a German guy called Robert Henke at The Barbican in London a few years ago and he came out and addressed the audience directly about filming before he started. His show was based around his music, set to a complex display of lasers and smoke. It's tough for anyone touring a live show these days to have an element of surprise and wonder, when anyone in the audience who's interested will have already seen earlier shows on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram etc. Robert Henke did an encore and told people to go wild filming it, which was a decent compromise I thought.

I use a simple point and shoot digital camera, a "Canon Power Shot." I don't use the phone.

My view on shooting pictures in Europe with this handy digital is basically to shoot everything, ie, everything that will show up more or less clearly, ( the big advantage with a digital), especially in France, the significant and insignificant , which is relative.

This means taking pictures of train stations in towns, villages (pit stops, actually), statues, street signs, especially pertaining French lit. and historical personalities, museums sites, inside and outside (no paintings, obviously,) empty village streets, the village houses and windows, architectural styles, river signs, restaurants , etc, etc. , landscape, monuments aged by time , those from the 18th century, churches, cathedrals, cemeteries, memorials, historical plaques in French (and in German) , war cemeteries (British, German, French, US, etc) , even current political graffiti (French and German) , if I consider it worthy,

What happens when out and about, the battery in the camera runs out? To deal with that unpleasant contingency, I leave the hotel in morning with 3 fully loaded batteries for the day's activities.

everything that will show up more or less clearly,

That's a point that resonates with me a bit. Sometimes pictures of really boring things or scenes can become interesting if you wait a few years, or decades. I have a folder of black and white 10x8s from my youth and many of the most interesting shots are just from fooling around or stuff I took on the streets of Glasgow.

I meant to add, "clearly" is something I like too. Pictures being pin sharp and well lit is something I like. I like flash, even outdoors, because of the detail it can add mixed with daylight. A lot of photographers talk about f1.4 lenses and use them wide open. I'd rather be at f8 most of the time where things are nice and sharp.

I should elaborate what I meant by "everything will show up clearly" relatively upon taking the picture.

Often times there have historical plaques or monuments going back to the early 19th century, a casualty of time and the elements, where the inscriptions on that stone or metal are no longer recognizable. The result is one cannot always make out, decipher the explanation or names listed.

Two examples come to mind: in 1999 I went to Lübbenau im Spreewald south of Berlin, where I came across a plaque from 1813 on the war against Napoleon in the Zentrum. That plaque was pretty worn out, to the extent I hardly made out the inscription. Example 2: In the early years of the 21st century, I went to Minden an der Weser, west of Hannover. While walking up this forest road , I came across the WW1 military memorial stone on the forest path set up as the German memorial for WW1. Good parts of this rectangular stone had names listed and other info pertinent to the soldier which were no longer clearly decipherable.

Taking picture of that you know the picture won't come out.

All I can add here is try not to get trapped with a friend or colleague who wants to show you their vacation pictures. I got stuck for 10 minutes yesterday at work but I was polite and a good actor.

I guess we're all different Big Mike, I wish more people would be willing to share their photos. I especially love to see others' perspective of things I've also seen. I find it fascinating when we both take a photo of the same thing; say the Colosseum, but have two totally different perspectives. That can lead a conversation about both of our trips into new directions.

We take photos, wife and I. We were in France, Feb-March. On each day, we took about 100 photos. We pixed our food, our location, our sights.

Now I have almost finished processing the entire trip. I go thru, label each pix, and organize them so that pix of wife and myself are placed together.

Now we will make a book.

We like the pix. We have done 8 trips, and in each trip, we have the same. I will be making pix labels and then books of all of them.

For us, the photo IS the moment. Partly it's my memory, which is bad.