Thinking about what I would want by the way of a present for my birthday this year, I realized I wanted a camera. I have one, I know, but I bought it in high school, and with every year those days seem more distant, slowly becoming part of not just a different world but one in a parallel universe.
Why that? What about a camera is so fascinating? It's not so much the actual object and it's actual function as an artistic tool that capture my imagination and envy at the moment, it's the idea of a camera, this idea that you can actually capture and hold on to a moment or an experience or a feeling. It's like the scene in the X-Men movie where the Professor stopped time, called a time out, and then used that time to evaluate the situation and what was really going on. We wrestle with time but time always wins. We can use it wisely but it's rules are ever in place, we never get more or less and no matter the bribes, it continues on, not ignoring our entreaties but never acquiescing to our requests, willing to listen while all the while continuing to tick along with every clock on the planet.
This really hasn't ended up where I wanted to go. I just wanted to tell you and all the extremely intelligent people out there of an invention that I would really like someone to work on, or tell me if it exists (I'm 96.5% sure it doesn't). It appeals to this idea in an even more intense way, so I think it would be a profitable enterprise as well. And now for the grand idea (oh no the hype was too much!) an optical tracking camera.
I have no idea how that would work, but the basic idea is a camera that tracks your eye movement and focus and then at your signal takes a picture of whatever it is you are looking at. The minimal size possible is obviously preferable. They could be disguised as sunglasses or horn-rimers, or a head set. Again, all this is very vague I know, but that's how all ideas form. Hands-free or almost hands-free would be a big plus as well. Imagine actually being able to CAPTURE snapshots from your life, as you walk, talk, move laugh, unbeknownst to everyone around you and without having to dig your camera out of your bag, wait for it to turn on and then sigh as you realize that time has already flitted what you were intrigued by away. Maybe it is just me, but I mourn for those lost moments, those glances and snippets that fade, no matter the intensity of your desire to gather them together for further investigation. So somebody do me a favor. Make me a camera, a recordable window to the world. Modern technology is pretty amazing, but stopping time, that's magic. So there is it, an open invitation to all.Try it, I dare you!
