Is love like taking a photo, the lens admits the quantity of light, the shutter determines how long it lasts?

Question

then we get a photograph that survives years and years after the moment is gone?

Could the source of enchantment be the transient exposure to the beloved?

I know this more than silly to look at love in this mechanical way, but can you deny that we save an everlasting picture in our heads (or hearts if you want) for the beloved, especially the image or the impression that we had at the first few meetings?

[I am discussing love at the first sight]

"The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories that it has come to be disbelieved. Few people daresay nowadays that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at eachother. Yet that is the way love begins, and only that way. The rest is only the rest, and comes afterwards. Nothing is more real than the great shocks that two souls give each other in exchanging this spark. "

Victor Hugo

Answer 1

it has been so long when i first fell in love..my memory is a black and white photo..i know it was a colorfull picture at the time..but since my divorce 23 years ago..my memory's are just black and white negatives...

Answer 2

If that is what love means to you...than that is what it means. We all have our own interpretation about emotions, especially love...Yours just happens to 'be the transient exposure to the beloved'...You have a very romanticised idea about love so don't let anyone say it's not true, because it is for you.

Answer 3

I disagree that this is an idealist view of love. In fact I find the comparison to machinery to be very materialistic based and a overly simplified understanding of the complexity of the nature of human beings.

In order, no we do not we get an impression or memory that will survive in some form perfectly over the years (how it is remembered may well be different in the case of a divorce - (I can't believe I was swept off my feet by that jerk now I wonder what I saw) then at the 25th wedding anniversary (She was my fairy tale and even through the hard years she stayed my princess).

Second, love does require exposure to the other person but it also requires attraction and shared ideas and interest (not all just some). However, additional exposure (jobs, rents, unpleasant habits, etc. ) is when love is tested and the infatuation/sexual chemistry is no longer enough.

Third, yes as I already stated that image changes based on circumstances of the present. Memory is far from a perfect picture.

Fourth, because it is untrue: no one has fallen in love because they looked at each other. This is known as physical attraction and sexual chemistry or infatuation. There are many beautiful women and men that have been rejected after they open their mouths and let you know what kind of person she/he was, if you were in love one would battle past this and this doesn't happen.

Just the rest as you call it (getting to know one another, discussing dreams, hopes, regrets, etc.) is where falling in love takes place beyond the initial spark or glance that can never keep a relationship together without just the rest (that I call true love).

Psi

Answer 4

Love...Bah Humbug! lol (just kidding) There are SO MANY different kinds of love. They should have a separate name for each kind. Maybe they do. Sometimes the gf/bf kind can be the most shallow. I know it's probably the most passionate..but sometimes the flame goes out. There are other kinds of love that last a lot longer and are just as deep. ..maybe deeper. You can feel a "connection" sometimes too with these other kinds. Even for puppy dogs! Did you ever go to choose one  and you just "knew" that a certain one was the one for you?And you "fall in love" with that puppy dog...but of course it's not the same kind as you're talking about. I just don't want you to live your life thinking that the kind you're talking about is the only kind or even the most important kind.

Answer 5

This is an idealist view of love that someone might have early in life.

However, love would be more like a collage that you work on for the rest of your life. You want every photo to be the best possible, so you face your love with a sober mind and giving heart, wanting the best possible life for them.

Photos tend to show the happy moments in life, and of course not all moments are happy. This is why love has to be a continual act. It needs to be worked on spiritually, physically, and mentally on a daily basis, or it will eventually fail.

It is a fairy tale to believe that you will fall in love and it will last forever exactly the way you want it to be. People change, and if you love someone then you need to be willing to change with them, as well as them being willing to change with you.

A photo never changes.