Marrakech Medina

Before I got to Marrakech, I read somewhere that some Moroccans don't like to be photographed. They believe having their picture taken captures a part of their soul. I don't know if it's true — I never asked anyone to find out — but the idea has stuck with me. 

I often find myself contemplating why I take so many photos. Opening the camera app on my phone has become instinctive, like my brain is able to tell my thumb to swipe up on my screen before I've even realized I want to photograph something. It's easy, simple, so I take pictures of everything. 

We photograph because we don't want to forget, because we know so many moments will be lost in the gray of our unreliable memories. Photography is a form of time travel — capturing the fleeting, ever-changing pieces of our world, of our lives. 

Maybe the Moroccans are right. Maybe when we have our photos taken, it captures a part of our souls. But isn't that the point? Isn't that a good thing?