Other people's photos

I was taking a photo of something behind this man

Running into other people’s photos is just plain unavoidable. It seems like everywhere these days you find people hovering together to snap a photo, and no matter what, the person shooting the photo is usually taking up the entire sidewalk. I often find myself running, jumping, skipping, and sliding to try to stay out of the way. Inevitably, though, no matter my measly attempts to avoid, I have no doubt I’m in 100s of other people’s photos. It got me thinking about how many other people’s memories we all are in. We often don’t think about the random people in our photos. We usually just consider them mere background objects OR the objects of a ruined photo. But, sometimes a specific person, usually just a stranger, will spark a memory or a moment in time (the family sitting next to your on your overnight train through Europe in the background of your photo, the tour guide obviously standing in your shot). If strangers have the ability to spark memories for us, I wonder if we at times are the strangers that spark these memories for others?


There are often two ways we end up in other people’s photos. We either a) knowingly, but unintentionally run/walk/stand in someone else’s shot (this is usually followed by a great opportunity to practice the local language and say I’m sorry) or b) we obliviously are just in someone else’s photos. These oblivious ones are the real mystery. How many of these photos are we all in? What emotions did someone else catch on camera that we may never have poised for? During an infamous trip to Eastern Europe, I probably had my all time, 1-day record for unintentional entry into other people’s photos.

Prague (thanks to Austria Travel)

I visited Prague in April during a 2 week “Eastern European Excursion”. I often like to name my trips cleverly because a) it is way more fun and b) it is a much easier way to remember where I was and when. Try it next time you travel! The “Eastern European Excursion” started in Sevilla, Spain then traveled north by bus to Madrid, then by plane to Vienna, then my train to Prague, then by another train through Slovenia to Budapest, Hungary. We ended back up in Madrid and then ultimately back in Sevilla just in time for Semana Santa. I am literally tired just thinking about it. It was an amazing trip with truly amazing friends. This trip was monumental in my traveling history because it was the first time that I realized that sometimes the lesser known locations can be the most enlightening (Slovenia and Vienna wasn’t exactly Rome or Florence). It also was monumental in my complete lack of money throughout the entire trip and my ability to still survive--- with some minor mishaps along the way.


By the time I had gotten to Prague, I was on a very strict 15 euro/day food budget (all my other money was for film, lodging, transportation, and getting into sights). At the time that 15 Euros was about $10, but now that would only be about $8. I’m not sure if I really realized how much (or little in this case) $10 would buy you. The other tricky part was that I was with people who had no food budget. How was I going to get through it without making it completely obvious I was broke? It wasn’t that they would have cared; it was more that I didn’t want to make money a discussion. It wasn’t a worthy topic in such an amazing location.


My solution to my food dilemma was this: I’d buy 1 liter of water and refill it in water fountains and taps around the city. I’d buy some crackers and granola bars, fruit at the local markets, and some very small meal in the evening at a restaurant or pub (usually just soup). To this day, I still don’t think this is a terrible way of traveling. In fact, I got to see a lot more places by sacrificing expensive meals for plane tickets. I’d still do it if I needed to today.


By the time I had gotten to Prague, I had the same, crinkled bottle of water. On our first day in Prague, it was a beautifully gray spring day (one of those days where you don’t know if you need sunglasses or not). We started our day off by traveling into the old town and seeing the old Medieval village (beautifully, undestroyed by WWII), the old Jewish quarters, and the oldest and creepiest clock tower in Europe (with pays tribute to the Plague that rocked the city 100s of years ago with Skelton statues). Then we made our way to the famous St. Charles Bridge. With its countless statues, the bridge is breathtaking. It was only about 12noon by this time, but by the time I reached the Bridge my stomach started to twist and turning in a way that makes you realize that throwing up in your only relief. It was truly unavoidable and unmistakable. After scrambling in the public pay restroom and begging the pay woman through body jesters that I really needed to use the restroom although I had no money, I came out feeling incredibly ill and hopeless. There was literally no way I could go on. This is the only time that sickness ever kept me away from traveling. I told my concerned friends to just leave me be by the Bridge and to come back and get me in a couple hours. I told them I’d be fine with me and my Rick Steve’s travel books in hand. They were going on to the Prague castle. After a lot of convincing, they left me. The hotel was too far away, so I piled up my Rick Steve’s travel books under my head and covered myself with my rain jacket. I then proceed to lay right down on the cement bench. I stuffed my money up my shirt and secured my bag by wrapping it around my wrist and a rubber band. Nobody was going to get anything off me without a fight!


It must have been hours later because the wind picked up and all I noticed way flashing everywhere. I shot up quickly and realized to my horror that I wasn’t on a cement bench like I thought, but instead on the base of the statue of St. Charles at the beginning of the bridge. It looked like every tourist in Prague was taking a photo of it and, me, the sick/homeless girl in the background! My initial thought was (without joke), “Holy crap, people must have been taking photos all day of me!” After my initial shock, I started to hear my name being screamed out. It was my friends who had come back for me and were desperately trying to find me. Apparently, they never recognized me on the statue, as they thought I was surely a homeless woman! After a quick reunion and the realization that I had about 5 Euros dropped at my feet from tourists thinking I was needy, my friends and I had a huge laugh. I decided to take my 5 Euros and go get an authentic Czech Pilsner and a real meal. I think I splurged that day with about 20 Euros!


To this day, I still think about that trip to Prague and my hours lying obliviously in other people’s photos. I still wonder what I looked like and how “homeless” I really looked. I wonder if people remember me and if my presence in their photos sparks memories for them (“Oh remember when that poor girl was taking up the entire base of the statue and we couldn’t get a family photo!”) At the end of the day, I think the bigger realization is that memories come in all forms and they intersect across people. Someone else has a memory of that same day, in a different way. Maybe, just maybe, I’m in someone’s photo frame unintentionally.