I wanted to elaborate on the Indonesian engagement party that I was at and took some pictures.
I used to photograph a lot of weddings. I don’t do weddings too much now or engagement parties. But every time I did a wedding, I would see the 27 years old and the 22 year old girl and I could see that it’s not going to last. I just could see his personality and her advancing much quicker than him and being a typical American divorce.
But what I see at these Asian weddings, where there’s an Asian woman and an American man – a man is the most happiest guy in the planet and the girl is even happier. Usually the girl is very beautiful and the guy is a little out of shape and older but she’s very happy, he’s very happy.
These things, these arranged marriages are not as bad as people think. Maybe she doesn’t speak English very well, maybe he doesn’t understand but whatever it is, they seem very happy and I think those type of couples will make it in America.
I want to talk about something else. One of those things that I see, not what I think. What I see is everybody walking in New York City texting or they’re on the phone, texting texting on the phone, a million people. I think in the next four or five years or ten years, the art of conversation is going to be lost. People are always texting this way, that way.
If a man meets a woman or a woman meets a man, they text each other so they can ask a question and then the person can think about the answer. The whole art of conversation is ‘you say this, I say that, you say this, I say that.’ That sparring type of thing is going to be lost. People get to think too much before they answer a question. You can’t listen in between the lines, you can’t hear the tone or feel the excitement.
So, this is what I think. But what I see is everyone on these cellphones and texting.
That’s all I wanted to say today. Of course, I’m photographing all day outside. I’ll talk about that tomorrow.