Put down your camera

I've been photographing air shows for over twenty years now and yet again I find myself standing under the mid-day sun, cameras at the ready, waiting for the shrill ear piercing roar of the latest jet to begin its display.

There's something about airshows that attracts photographers, or maybe that should be male photographers, and over the years I've encountered snappers festooned with a boggling array of camera gear. Well, No more, those days are gone.

Now everyone has a sleek camera in the shape of a phone. It not only takes the picture, more importantantly it then distributes it to the world, or at least to their mates and buddies online.

At Farnborough's press day F1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton was on hand to race a Lear jet, the boys at Top Gear would be proud. Once he'd outpaced the jet he pulled his McLaren-Mercedes off the track and was promptly surrounded by fans, photographers and a few security guards trying to push the pack backwards.

It seemed to me that everyone wanted to photograph Hamilton. No one asked for autographs, their mobiles were out and in his face.

The photographers were left to wield their oversized cameras between the miniature lenses of the crowd. Nothing wrong wth that, it made for a few reasonable snaps, but what drives our need to posses a likeness.

For the photographers it's their job, and in this case Hamilton was there to pose for a photo-call. But what about everyone else?

It's not for financial reward. Is it to prove they were there, do we need to see every moment of our lives posted online?

Don't misunderstand me, I'm all for it. I'd support anyone who expresses an interest in stills in this age of raw video, but there are times when even professionals put their lenses away.

So on occasion, just experience the moment, not through the screen of a camera, just use your eyes.

You can see my photos from Farnborough here.