Some places have a stronger pull than others.

During a less–than–likeley–ever–to–be–realized moment of fantasy I looked up this place in Iceland. It’s fairly remote, the last time I was there the only way to reach it could hardly be described as a road. A double track with ambitions perhaps. For all I know that may have changed though. The search engine came up with several informative—for the potential tourist—and less informative pieces. I clicked on the images tab. The first few captured the scenery, there was birdlife, the odd man–made structures in the landscape, people looking out towards the ocean. Then the 4×4 shots, the I conquered the landscape with my vehicle, my extension photos.

Looking at them it felt overwhelmingly obvious how I wouldn’t be able to contribute anything meaningful to the image search, were I to realize my moment of fantasy and travel there and later upload the photos I would make to the internet. Somewhere the search engine could index them. Or perhaps it was more like a moment of 21st century apathy, no not apathy but hopelessness with a twist.

After not looking for a while it started to make sense again. Make sense to go and see, to breathe and smell, to touch the rocks and the weather, to experience, to be. And—perhaps—to record. Even if there are way too many records already. Not to contribute to the image search result pages but see if they might initiate a thought or two. A question worth asking.