Do You Stop to Take Pictures?

The trail leading toward the waterfall. (Photo by Oakley)

I always wonder if taking a picture helps me remember a moment or if it pulls me out of it.

Today I sat beside a waterfall for a while. No headphones. No rush. Just the sound of water and a notebook. Along the trail there were tiny wild roses blooming in the middle of all the green, a butterfly resting on the dirt, and places that would have been easy to miss if I had only been focused on getting to the destination.

Water cascades over the falls on a summer afternoon. (Photo by Oakley)

I still took photos.

Not because I wanted proof I was there, but because sometimes a photo becomes a bookmark. A way to return to a feeling long after the hike is over.

The trick, at least for me, is remembering to do both.

Take the picture. Then put the phone away.

Notice how loud the water is. Notice the wind in the trees. Notice the flowers nobody else stopped for.

Wild flowers bloom alongside the trail. (Photo by Oakley)

Sometimes the things that catch my attention aren’t the big views at all. They’re the little details most people walk right past the wildflowers growing beside the trail, the way the sunlight hits the leaves, the quiet moments between destinations.

A butterfly rests on the path. (Photo by Oakley)

Years from now I’ll probably look back at these photos and remember the waterfall. But what I’ll really want to remember is how it felt to sit there and simply exist for a little while.

The surrounding valley is visible from above the falls. (Photo by Oakley)

So here’s my question:

When you find somewhere beautiful, do you stop to take pictures—or do you just enjoy it?

Maybe the best moments are when you do a little bit of both.

— Oakley