Going through your photo albums, do you ever seem to notice strangers creeping in the background of your pictures?
I found this picture of myself that my parents had taken when I was about four-years-old. I am off center in this photograph, excited and wide-eyed like any child modeling for a photo-op. However, in the center of this picture is a strange man with a furry `stache and `80s aviator glasses. Who was this man? Why did I find him in a pile of family and friends pictures?
As I walked to the Path Station sometime last week, I saw tourists snapping pictures of eachother in front of the mind-blowing World Trade Center skyscrapers. As I rushed towards the train, I found myself in the background of the tourists’ pictures. This, in turn, made me wonder: How many strangers have pictures of me?
You never seem to think that you could be the creepy stranger in the background of others’ pictures; there are only strangers in your pictures. On the contrary, you are a photo-background-creeper, as well. You have no choice, strange and amateur photographers have already taken hundreds of accidental pictures of you!
Now take a moment to think about the weird people you have gone out of your way to sneekily snap a picture of on your camera phones. Think of the `80s mustache man in my four-year-old picture. Think of all the weirdos, cuties, and other people you just had to take a picture of. Now, imagine that you are that person; you are the weird focus of some stranger’s picture.
The next time you are casually walking around in a crowded space, think about everyone who is taking pictures and whose pictures you’re inevitably going to be in.
I know for a fact I’m probably in hundreds of people’s albums, but I wasn’t a background… they just wanted me there.
It just happened to be in Asia and it was strange at the beginning, but then I just used to the fact that they just want to take a picture with me.
But apart from that, yes… there are probably thousands of pictures of you, you are not aware of.