Today we celebrate Victory Day. Initially, I had planned to take a bus to my parents' hamlet and join in the commemoration ceremony and events, but I caught a cold a few days ago, so I decided to stay home. Today I felt better, so I decided to walk across town after the main festivities had already ended.

As I was walking, I saw a young couple across the street — a guy in a soldier's uniform with a couple of flowers in his hands, and his girlfriend. They were chatting and smiling, and I thought they looked cute enough to immortalize in a photo. Howver, even though I had my camera on me, I chose not to take a picture of them. In the first place, I don't think it's acceptable to take pictures of strangers. Secondly, people tend to act differently in front of the camera. Furthermore, we were the only ones on the street at the time, so it's not like I could possibly whip out my camera and remain inconspicuous. And if I did take a picture of them, I'd feel obligated to give them a copy. Just working out the logistics can make me lightheaded. I don't have a public account or anything, and I wouldn't post anyone's picture without their consent anyway. There's this type of content on social media — Instagram reels of street photographers walking around town taking pictures of strangers. I don't think I could do that. And I don't think it'd be socially acceptable in this country. But I'd be lying if I said I don't envy those photographers a little.

As I walked further, I saw a kid play-fighting with his father. It was another scene worth capturing, but I didn't dare. I was thinking this would be problematic even with friends or at family gatherings — as soon as you point a camera at someone, they either start posing or they tense up. Either way, the moment is gone. It's especially bad when people look straight into the camera while you're trying to capture something candid. The worst thing is that one person when one person insists on looking into the camera while everyone else is doing their thing — those shots can go straight into the trash.

Finally, I got to the park and saw an old man onstage playing guitar and singing military songs. I listened to a few songs and then left. As I was passing the roller coaster, I saw a set of four-year-old twins dancing to the roller coaster music. They were so much fun to watch! I was far off, but I pulled out my phone and started recording a video. However, after a few seconds, the moment had passed. The music stopped and so did the kids.

I can't help but think how amazing it would be to have the ability to transfer images from my eyes straight to a memory card. I'd be able to capture all those moments on the spot, with no delay and no disruption.