The Photograph We Never Appear In

We have taken hundreds of photographs for travelers: moving everyone slightly to the left, waiting for a stranger to leave the frame and taking one more picture, just in case. Usually, we remain behind the camera — although sometimes we are invited into the photograph, and we are always happy to join.

Once, one of our guides took a selfie with two travelers. Years later, they sent it back to us. They had met during that trip, and that spontaneous selfie — with our guide smiling in the foreground — had become their very first photograph together.

For us, it had been one more picture during an ordinary working day. For them, it marked the beginning of a shared story. That is one of the quiet surprises of guiding: we rarely know which everyday moments will become someone else’s unforgettable memories.

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Written by the Madrid by Locals team.