I went for a visit to the Palace of Versailles on Thursday.
The thing I found most outstanding was the shear number of people looking at this place of outstanding beauty through screens.
Cameras, telephones and I-pads. I think I was one of the only ones who enjoyed it with my own eyes.
Two of the shockers for me: someone filming a static model of the palace they were standing in…and one person who observed the whole of the Palais des Glaces through their iPad.
Why not just stay at home and open Wikipedia at the Versailles Palais page - it would cost less, you’d avoid the crowds and there would be more opportunity for those who want to see, to actually see with their eyes.
I guess a camera always went with the job. At least, one did not dare do it without for some kind of documentary evidence. Most of that time was using film. Camera plus film are weight and therefore needed to be limited to an essential only amount, the same applied for tourism, so people were selective. Digital has made it 'essential' to record every millimetre of each visit. That takes the guts out of it, plus the fact that 99% of people doing that have not the first clue, so that what they do is at best fractionally as good as what can be found online. A sign of the times but a rather stupid one when one seriously thinks about it.