photos

you know what makes me feel completely uneasy and gives me an awkard feeling in my stomach? it is when you see photos with people in it who are holding their drink up to the camera, as it to say "cheers", to who? to the camera? when i see a camera i cant really view it as a subsitution for a person. so are you "saying" "cheers" to whoever the unknown viewer of the photo will be? surely this kind of contemplating doesnt go through our heads when posing for a photo. it seems that there is an implicit language trasmission going on, such that the poser and viewer would, i guess, experience the signified thought, implied by the raising the glass (being the signifier) which has the meaning of "cheers".
maybe it is the unnaturalness that actually makes me feel really sick when seeing these photos, or the formality?

but if ever there were to be an empty gesture, i think this would be a prime example, purely because the "cheers" would be so specific to the moment, unless the photo was for someone, aimed at someone, the "cheers" feels indeterminate and leads to an uncertainty.
is the person trying to tell me something, is it merely a pose? my third person perspective of them holding the glass up to camera is deeply unsettleing.
i would like to elaborate further on this topic at some point............