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>In the era of overtourism, the digital display isn’t just responsible. It’s authentic. Maybe responsible (although also lazy - go visit some actual place that

>In the era of overtourism, the digital display isn’t just responsible. It’s authentic. Maybe responsible (although also lazy - go visit some actual place that's not overcrowded). Not authentic. I would call Perlan and similar aurora tourist attractions "aurora porn". They always present the biggest and brightest and usually speed up the clip so you can more easily see things moving. In reality, my experience of seeing auroras just incidentally (once while walking around town and another time while out at a remote cabin) has been perhaps not as visually striking but still emotionally moving. It was so faint and slow that I kept wondering if what I was seeing was really there. It was very much a different experience from the films I'd seen of auroras. Of course, the big bright auroras are out there, too, but would you call buying a fish authentic fishing even if the fish you bought was more appealing than the fish you caught? I think not.

netsharc 7y ago
I don't get why he's calling it authentic. It's a simulacrum, just like porn to real sex. But it makes me think of this photo series http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html (or with more words: https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-vacation-industry-f50ad4ff30c7 https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-...) of faked vacation spots: a ski hall in Dubai or of a tropical beach inside a hangar in Germany. And I have to wonder, how "authentic" is even Reykjavik nowadays? It certainly has been Disneyfied with the many many souvenir shops and "trendy" cafes, and as the article said, x years ago it used to be empty, and now it's full of tourists, so it certainly isn't "authentic" Reykjavik. But then again, maybe tourists nowadays are just like watchers of porn. They know it's fake, but it's what they're seeking anyway. I was in Iceland in July, and even with the tourists, the nature is still great. Although I had to wonder what people were actually doing... they see something pretty and their first reaction is, "I have to take a picture of this!".
- vertis 7y ago
  There is a theme park just outside Da Nang, in Vietnam called Ba Na Hills[1]. The park is done up just like a European village. It's complete with a Gothic cathedral and a German beer hall, and is surreal to walk around. Oddly, it's primarily targeted at South Korean tourists rather than locals. It's well worth the visit if you're in the area. [1]: https://banahills.sunworld.vn/en/ https://banahills.sunworld.vn/en/
  - nyolfen 7y ago
    huawei has a campus in china built in such a style, though it's not meant for tourism: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Huawei+Songshan+Lake+Base&t=h_&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Huawei+Songshan+Lake+Base&t=h_&iar...
- indigochill 7y ago
  I think tourists in general are fine with fake. They just want an entertainment experience (and usually to share photos of it on social media). Whether it's authentic is usually not the point. But this might just be my jaded perspective. I wouldn't hold the crowds in Reykjavik against the town itself, though. It's no less authentic than the seasonality of a college town. It's not the same as it was years ago, certainly, but everything changes. And I've found the tourism traffic pattern around town is actually quite narrow. Laugavegur is packed in the summer, but just move one block over and the street's practically empty. Also get out of downtown and into the suburbs and things feel much more normal. Of course, tourists don't usually travel to foreign countries to walk around suburbs. And there's definitely an Icelandic hipster culture that enjoys the craft beer and fancy cafes as much as the tourists, so I wouldn't say that's inauthentic of modern Icelandic life. So then there's the question of which version of Iceland one considers "authentic".
kaybe 7y ago
I have seen it, several times actually. It does move like that, and it can throw a very clear shadow (for brightness). You were unlucky, it seems. Several times the groups I was meeting up with were unlucky as well, and freaked out about the faintest glow over the horizon (and in both cases it was a better-than-50%-chance timewise). People often actually don't believe it until they see it. It's the kind of thing I have to stop the car for or I'll crash due to not watching the road. It's like looking at porn and then not believing fantastic sex exists at all.
- indigochill 7y ago
  Oh, I know they're out there. But it's true I've not been lucky enough to see one yet. But I also haven't gone out of my way to see them and since I live in town the visibility often isn't the best.
alltakendamned 7y ago
My photographing wife explains it as the cameras can register the aurora borealis better than your eyes can. Add post-processing on top and it doesn't look the same in real life as in the pictures. Still mesmerizing and profoundly interesting to experience though imo.
- planteen 7y ago
  Yep. Your eyes lose there ability to resolve color in low light. Which is why you see the northern lights looking more like grey smoke rather than the colorful display your camera captures.

netsharc 7y ago

I don't get why he's calling it authentic. It's a simulacrum, just like porn to real sex. But it makes me think of this photo series http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html (or with more words: https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-vacation-industry-f50ad4ff30c7 https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-...) of faked vacation spots: a ski hall in Dubai or of a tropical beach inside a hangar in Germany. And I have to wonder, how "authentic" is even Reykjavik nowadays? It certainly has been Disneyfied with the many many souvenir shops and "trendy" cafes, and as the article said, x years ago it used to be empty, and now it's full of tourists, so it certainly isn't "authentic" Reykjavik. But then again, maybe tourists nowadays are just like watchers of porn. They know it's fake, but it's what they're seeking anyway. I was in Iceland in July, and even with the tourists, the nature is still great. Although I had to wonder what people were actually doing... they see something pretty and their first reaction is, "I have to take a picture of this!".

vertis 7y ago
There is a theme park just outside Da Nang, in Vietnam called Ba Na Hills[1]. The park is done up just like a European village. It's complete with a Gothic cathedral and a German beer hall, and is surreal to walk around. Oddly, it's primarily targeted at South Korean tourists rather than locals. It's well worth the visit if you're in the area. [1]: https://banahills.sunworld.vn/en/ https://banahills.sunworld.vn/en/
- nyolfen 7y ago
  huawei has a campus in china built in such a style, though it's not meant for tourism: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Huawei+Songshan+Lake+Base&t=h_&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Huawei+Songshan+Lake+Base&t=h_&iar...
indigochill 7y ago
I think tourists in general are fine with fake. They just want an entertainment experience (and usually to share photos of it on social media). Whether it's authentic is usually not the point. But this might just be my jaded perspective. I wouldn't hold the crowds in Reykjavik against the town itself, though. It's no less authentic than the seasonality of a college town. It's not the same as it was years ago, certainly, but everything changes. And I've found the tourism traffic pattern around town is actually quite narrow. Laugavegur is packed in the summer, but just move one block over and the street's practically empty. Also get out of downtown and into the suburbs and things feel much more normal. Of course, tourists don't usually travel to foreign countries to walk around suburbs. And there's definitely an Icelandic hipster culture that enjoys the craft beer and fancy cafes as much as the tourists, so I wouldn't say that's inauthentic of modern Icelandic life. So then there's the question of which version of Iceland one considers "authentic".

kaybe 7y ago

I have seen it, several times actually. It does move like that, and it can throw a very clear shadow (for brightness). You were unlucky, it seems. Several times the groups I was meeting up with were unlucky as well, and freaked out about the faintest glow over the horizon (and in both cases it was a better-than-50%-chance timewise). People often actually don't believe it until they see it. It's the kind of thing I have to stop the car for or I'll crash due to not watching the road. It's like looking at porn and then not believing fantastic sex exists at all.

indigochill 7y ago
Oh, I know they're out there. But it's true I've not been lucky enough to see one yet. But I also haven't gone out of my way to see them and since I live in town the visibility often isn't the best.

alltakendamned 7y ago

My photographing wife explains it as the cameras can register the aurora borealis better than your eyes can. Add post-processing on top and it doesn't look the same in real life as in the pictures. Still mesmerizing and profoundly interesting to experience though imo.

planteen 7y ago
Yep. Your eyes lose there ability to resolve color in low light. Which is why you see the northern lights looking more like grey smoke rather than the colorful display your camera captures.