Weekly Report #86 - Defeating Time with Images

Preface#

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This article is a record and reflection on life from 2025-01-27 to 2025-02-02.

Defeating Time with Images#

"Defeating time with images" — this is the slogan of a YouTuber I really like, "Little Deer Lawrence."

His videos seem to speak, presenting the emotions he wants to express at that moment, and they can instantly pull me back to the feelings I had when I first saw those scenes. For me, words seem to be a more comfortable and effortless way to leave behind my thoughts and changes over the years through weekly reports and mood logs, resisting forgetfulness. However, images still have their unique charm, a capability to freeze time.

I have loved street photography for several years, bringing my camera wherever I go on business trips, seemingly wanting to capture all the scenery I see. Sometimes, I become too focused on chasing the image and neglect the feelings of the moment. After going through a phase, I found myself more in love with the thematic nature of images, always thinking a lot before pressing the shutter — "What does this image want to express or what kind of story does it tell?" Sometimes, pursuing meaning too much leaves too little behind. In the past two years, however, due to being busy with more tangible experiences in life, I have rarely taken out my camera. While sorting through some materials recently, I discovered many missing memories.

Recently, I bought a new camera, the Fujifilm X100VI. Although it is just an APSC and has a fixed lens at this price point, its retro and beautiful appearance and lightweight design make me more eager to take it out, and I can't put it down. Under such feelings, I ended up capturing many meaningful images.

Not long ago, I got my marriage certificate and found a film photographer on Xiaohongshu to follow us around, capturing some photos in a small river park by the Grand Canal in Hangzhou. The quality was quite good, and when we revisited these candid shots, we often recalled the scenes and emotions of that time. This sparked the idea of taking a similar set of portraits for my parents and sister.

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My parents have been in love for nearly thirty years, accompanying each other through many storms. However, since I can remember, I have never heard them argue, and they are still sweet to this day. Perhaps my deep-seated yearning for beautiful love and marriage comes largely from them.

But my parents are not very fond of taking photos. In fact, our family has never had anything like an album. Even in the years after I bought a camera and started playing with photography, there were very few photos of family members. After some persuasion, our family finally went out one afternoon, walking and stopping, laughing and playing. After returning home at night, we projected all the photos on the TV, and the whole family selected pictures together, occasionally laughing at some goofy expressions caught on camera.

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Not long after, we returned to our hometown to visit my grandparents, who are nearly eighty years old. Having passed their youthful and energetic days, they are even less willing to take photos, but we still managed to capture a few. Interestingly, while taking pictures of my grandmother, I also asked her why she married my grandfather. She sighed deeply and said, "Oh..." 🤣, leaving much unsaid.

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Another side story is that a high school classmate invited us out to play, as their child had just turned a hundred days old. Still in the excitement of trying out baby photography, we decided to expand our baby photography business and brought two cameras to capture some daily moments in their family, which was also quite fun.

Parents and relatives will grow old, and children will grow up. Time will take away many things. We cannot stop time from moving forward, but images provide a way to resist it. Sometimes, it is not about the technique or the results captured; it is merely about the moment the shutter is pressed, and everything gains meaning.

New Year#

All I want for new year is you.

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This is also a set of photos taken with a photographer, capturing very everyday street scenes in an old neighborhood. Perhaps it is not as grand as other people's wedding photos set against snow-capped mountains, grasslands, or oceans, but it represents our most cherished daily life in Hangzhou, which is more meaningful to us.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Interesting Things and Items#

Inputs#

Although most interesting inputs will automatically sync to the "Yu's Life" Telegram channel, I still selected a portion to list here, feeling more like a newsletter. Additionally, I built a microblog using Telegram Channel messages as content sources — "daily.pseudoyu.com," making it easier to browse.

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