A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was a photographer. Sort of. I loved it, I was OK at it. I mostly did fashion photography and it was my favourite hobby. I loved creating art and I made amazing friends doing it. I liked feeling like I had created something tangible I could be proud of. And then carpal tunnel hit. And despite surgeries, I can still only handle holding my camera for short lengths of time. Being unable to hold my camera for longer periods means unfortunately no more photoshoots, no more creative outlet.
It's been gutting to say the least. I really miss it. Now my only real hobby is Pokemon Go. I play every day and I love it. So when they released the 'Go Snapshot' mode, incorporating AR photography into Pokemon Go. I was hooked.
Because it involves using my phone, I can take photos for a lot longer with Pokemon Go without my hands hurting. It also combines my two great loves, photography and Pokemon! Anytime I go somewhere pretty I think about the Pokemon that I could photograph there, what colours work together, what types of Pokemon work in that setting, and I inevitably end up slinking off to take photos when I get the chance.
There's actually a whole amazing community of Pokemon Go AR photographers, and I follow a whole bunch of them on twitter. I have my own dedicated Pokemon instagram @kittypokemonsalot
When I see interesting graffiti, I immediately think of a Pokemon that might match well with it. I find that I'm forever photographing bug type Pokemon and trying to learn new tricks and techniques to manipulate the Go Snapshot mode.
I see a sunset, I put a Pokemon in front of it. I appreciate Pokemon I previously thought were kinda 'eh' because now I see the different environments that they can be photographed in and how they can fit into the 'real' world via AR.
Do I get some funny looks taking photos of invisible creatures using my phone in public? Sure. But I already got those looks because I'm also a tall fat 31 year old woman who is obviously playing Pokemon Go, probably wearing a dress covered in zombies or Pokemon pins or something else equally garish, so why would I care? I love it, and that's what matters. It's so nice to be able to create some form of photography again, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it again in any way.
If you play Pokemon Go, drop your friend code below so I can add you!
Much love,
Kitty xxxx
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