I wish I enjoyed better talent for returning to a specific shot, especially when off the trail, and I’m curious if others share this strange condition.
Even with specific field notes, compass, and USGS topographic maps (think Cascade Mountains), my searches for earlier locations can mysteriously go astray, despite considerable hiking experience. Even when I’m standing within yards of where my tripod once stood – and though the scene has undergone no significant change – I still feel strangely misled. It doesn’t seem to happen when I’m hiking for reasons other than photography.
Such a fit of disorientation may be a fascinating problem of psychology:
My bearings, I will think, have not been based on my objective memory of the former scene, but on the “pre-visualized” metamorphosis it underwent for yesterday’s photo. I’m being led by perception, not facts. Not the best state of mind when you’re off the beaten path!
If this sounds familiar, I’d enjoy hearing about your experience, and how you may have diagnosed and “treated” the condition.
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