'Selfie tourism' - AIBU?

[SunflowerPosers]

This weekend I went to a beautiful sunflower field not far from where I live (NC for this as don't want it to be too outing), and I just wondered if anyone else feels the same way as me or whether I'm being too judgey and unreasonable?

There I was with my little DSLR camera trying to get some nice photos of sunflowers, and I couldn't believe the number of people who clearly thought the place existed for their own personal photo shoot.

Women (of a range of ages, not just the early 20s 'influencers') all clearly dressed up, doing 'candid' poses (where they deliberately don't look at the camera for some reason), instructing increasingly exasperated partners to take 20 more photos of them doing very similar poses. People walking around with obnoxiously large 'selfie sticks' where they've got the camera trained only on themselves the whole time, rather than just taking a moment to put their phone down and be present.

Maybe it's my age, but I don't really get it, and just think it all looks so cringeworthy. Of course, I understand wanting to get one or two photos of yourself in a nice location, but some people seem to take it to an extreme level of narcissistic behaviour.

And it seems to be common at so many places now. Go anywhere pretty, and you can barely move for the amount of people with selfie sticks. I'm half convinced that a lot of people you see on walks are only interested in getting photos of themselves to show where they've been, rather than actually enjoying walking!

Apparently there's a term for this sort of thing that I wasn't aware of, selfie tourism. People who specifically go to a location to get the perfect photo of themselves, rather than appreciating where they actually are.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy?

And I would ban all cameras/phones in museums and galleries, because it ruins the experience for those of us who want to.... you know...... look at the art! Put your phones away, people, and actually experience life, art, the moment.

I’m seeing a growing number of people wearing completely in appropriate clothing for hiking for the purposes of getting good photos - women up mountains wearing billowing skirts and cute straw sunhats. Sometimes they at least have the sense (if you can call it that?) to change when they get to the selfie spot, but sometimes you see them trying to navigate steep rocky paths in sandals and maxi skirts. It’s ridiculous.

Out of interest, what were you going to do with your photos you were taking on your little camera?

Farmers are diversifying round here (gloucestershire).

You can book a timeslot to take pics in the beautiful cotswold lavender fields. I've seen the same with sunflower fields towards Wales. It is fabulous that the selfie tourism culture can support desperately needed farming in this country.

Some of the pics you see on their sites are stunning, so I can see why people do it.

Yep, I really hate it when I go somewhere to take photos and other people are taking photos.

I hate it too.
went to L’Orangie in Paris to see Monets Water Lilly painting … all these idiots standing in front having multiple photos…. Just look at the painting … it’s one of the most beautiful things in the world!

I went to a sunflower field - surely they only anctually exist for people to take photos? Hence why all the props around. We stayed about 20 minutes….

No, it's bonkers. When I visit somewhere I want to really experience it, and those memories stay with you forever.

Overweaning vanity and narcissism is just the thing atm unfortunately, I suppose they'll get bored with it eventually.

It is the obsession with being in every photo that I find strange. Especially the ones of art etc. Like a need to prove they were there. If I wanted to take a picture of the pyramids, mona lisa etc. I would take one, but not need my face in it to show it was actually me.

I find it odd that people take photos of themself. Surely if you want to look at yourself you visit a mirror?

I'm of the 'no one's looking at you, dear' generation and I've never learned to pose. You stand close to mate/dp/ kids, face camera and smile.

Posing for a photo for too long would have been seen as vain and up yourself so I can't get past how no one seems to feel embarrassed or self conscious at, for example, taking 20 minutes arranging yourself sitting on a wall, whilst people all walk past and your bf stands ready to click away.

There’s a difference between enjoying photography - which is clearly what the op was doing, and being there just to take a million self-indulgent photos of yourself. These people often trample over flowers and places they aren’t meant to just to get the perfect shot (of themselves, obviously) they are completely self obsessed.

I agree OP. Was at an aquarium this weekend. There was an entire family taking selfies constantly with their backs to the tanks. I swear they didn’t see a single fish

It's a bit hypocritical to be annoyed at people showing up to a photo location to take photos, same as what you were doing.
The only difference being they chose to take photos of flowers and a person, vs. you taking photos of just flowers.
Just enjoy the moment, photographing flowers.

Because I'm an amateur nature and wildlife photographer. 😊

Absolutely agree OP. We were in Budapest recently and it was ridiculous, they treat them like professional photo shoots. We were at the beautiful New York Cafe and the amount of people taking selfies for ages in various poses over and over was awful.

We are currently in Majorca. Yesterday we got caught up in a traffic jam caused by two women performing a dance routine, as another filmed, in the middle of a one way road.
I kid you not!

Hypocritial to be annoyed at people taking photos when you were doing the same thing?

YABU. (I'm a photographer FWIW)

You went there with your camera to take photos, and were annoyed there were loads of people there with cameras taking photos. 🙃

I have also never taken a selfie but when I was going through my dad’s photos after he died, all of the ones with no people in I threw away. All of the ones with people in, I put in albums and enjoyed looking at as I did so.

You could say, why take a photo of the pyramids when you know you have been and you can find a better photo than you can take in a book or online.

I think it's fine for people to enjoy places in a way that resonates with them. What's not fine is hogging a viewpoint for twenty minutes taking shot after shot.

Maybe they’re amateur portrait photographers 🤷‍♀️ One isn’t more worthy than another

So... You're allowed to take photos but nobody else is?

I take the kids to places like that as they usually have a bug trail to do or maze etc and it’s a nice couple of hours out in the sunshine and yes I do take photos of them! what’s frustrating though is the obnoxious prices some of these places are charging now - the tulip fields one is nearly £20 per head including children which I thought was a piss take

I get where you're coming from OP, I don't think it's so much the fact that people are taking selfies, but they're taking up so much TIME in doing so.

I've seen people taking numerous selfies in beauty spots, and they don't give a toss if others are trying to either get by them or have a quick photo taken in the same area themselves.