Extreme Photography

Tobacco. Alcohol. Marijuana.

They all are considered gateway drugs—primer pharmaceuticals that spark the use of more hardcore and perhaps illicit drugs. Theory postulates that the euphoric sense one feels from moderate to high levels of nicotine or ethanol or THC creates an unquenchable thirst for an even greater high which culminates in addiction and perhaps death.

I am not judging so much as I am bewildered. There is a new trend in wedding photography called trashing the dress. Brides, in an effort to create a one-of-a-kind artistically edgy photograph, chose on their wedding day to destroy their gown while they are still in it; and then capture the moment on film.

The most benign shot might be of a bride walking into the crashing waves of the ocean. The most extreme is of a bride setting her dress (and therefore herself) on fire. 

I don’t get it—for several reasons.

Wedding dresses cost thousands of dollars—females wait their entire lives and spend countless hours searching for the perfect gown. There are multiple reality TV shows dedicated to its pursuit. A wedding dress is practically human.

And then there is the photoshop issue—Why actually endanger yourself and/or destroy an heirloom when there is technology out there capable of safely manufacturing the desired image? Is experiencing a torched dress really necessary when the flames can be digitally painted in?

Because I have my own theory regarding this madness. I suspect this trend is nothing more than the manifestation of a generation so numb to photographic documentation that they can no longer get high off of standard photography anymore.

Instagram is their gateway drug; extreme photography is their heroin.

And in my third floor closet right now is a preserved and boxed wedding gown. It is a personal treasure. What I remember most about wearing it is how I never wanted to take it off—I wanted to keep it on forever---I felt that beautiful in it.

And while it is something I will never wear again, I cannot imagine ever wanting to trash it.

And I cannot help but wonder if those brides who experienced momentary euphoria on snapping their one-of-a-kind artistically edgy photograph, later regretted their decision once they sobered up and realized that they were only chasing the dragon.