Caption

Though many pictures can speak for themselves, captions do a great deal in helping us to understand the importance, or intended meaning of an image. Here, I provide my own experience with this. (While not a photograph, I believe it to be equally effective in getting my point across.)

img 1

I see a group of people, probably friends, holding hands. They look happy for the most part. Some appear more enthusiastic than others. Each seems to have their own personality. They wear similar clothing, suggesting they are part of a group. I suppose this picture makes me feel somewhat happy. The reactions of the more reserved people to the overly energetic ones is amusing. Overall, it’s a nice drawing.

From left to right; Italy, Germany, (Prussia), Hungary, Austria, Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Canada, U.S., England

The added captions changes how I view this picture. Now, the people aren't just people, they’re symbolic of the countries of the world. Hand-holding is generally indicative of friendship. This is no longer just a nice picture of a group of friends, its a statement.

It’s advocating world peace and goodwill between nations.My feelings regarding the picture change from somewhat happy to wistful and almost sad considering the present world is far from this peaceful state.

                                                                   ~ ~ ~
Obviously, that isn't a photograph. But the same rules apply to most images. It's what makes looking at this photograph

img 2

different than looking at this one.

Captions give us context, they give us some direction when looking at images and can completely change the way we react to them.

Img 1 from http://rebloggy.com/post/hetalia-aph-axis-powers-hetalia-hetalia-world-series-all-hetalia-characters/29859257592
Img 2 from http://elitedaily.com/news/world/pictures-child-cancer-survivor-absolutely-flooring/603139/

Lasting Effect

Susan Sontag made an interesting statement in her essay “Regarding the Pain of Others”. She said, “photographs haunt us.” I think this is a statement that warrants revisiting and closer examination.  Sontag chose such strong words; ‘haunting’ almost always has a negative connotation. It’s something that happens to you without your consent or desire, almost to portray photography as this aggressive and intrusive entity whose influence and effects we cannot avoid. How do photographs haunt us? How do they find their way into our minds and play on our emotions in ways that other forms of art sometimes simply cannot?

Here we have a chart of some common emotions.

I won’t look over all of them here, but just a few of the more common ones. And I’ll start with…

This. I’d like to say this image would fall under the emotional category of anger, but I know that human emotion is much more complicated than that. We are such complex creatures that we are capable of feeling a great multitude of emotions at once. So, when looking at this image one might feel anger but also disgust, sadness, worry, or even fear. Why? In this society, at least, we have been almost conditioned to have that response. Every time we see this person it is in conjunction with some horrible news broadcast about nuclear weapons or human rights violations. Even if we can’t remember the name, the face is immediately associated with that which is evil and immoral.

And next: sadness. It’s not difficult to find sad photographs. What’s difficult is pinpointing exactly what makes them sad. We will try and go through that process with this photograph.

This photograph is sad because... the child is dead.

Death is sad because... the person was probably in pain.

What if the person died instantly, and never felt any pain? Death is still sad.

Why? Because of those that get left behind. We miss the deceased.

What if we don’t know the deceased? Death can still be sad.

Why? We feel empathy for the losses of others.

What about this photograph then? It has nothing to do with death, and yet can still be considered ‘sad’ by some.

I think this has to do with empathy or sympathy. Empathy if we have experienced the same or similar situation, we recall those times in our life and know exactly what they are feeling. Sympathy just from seeing another human being going through a difficult time, we are sorry that they suffering, and perhaps wish we could help.

And finally, to end on a much happier note…

Joy! It’s something that’s contagious just like yawning. It’s a generally accepted fact that laughter is especially contagious. This simply transfers over into photographs. We look at some images and can’t help but smile, even if just a little on the inside. And there’s something particularly joyful about baby laughter. Unlike their older counterparts who might feign a smile or laugh for whatever reason, a baby’s laughter is always genuine. If they’re not happy you’ll know it. And if they are...


  

Of course, everyone interprets emotion in their own way. What one person sees as sad another might not. What I think is scary someone else might think is funny. (Speaking of scary, I was going to address fear but decided against it. Instead, you can click here for an interesting video on what makes things creepy.) Photography as a whole is subject to interpretation by the viewer- both its meaning and its emotional effects.

Who We Are(n't)

Photographs are used for more than just memories of the past. Their purpose is not just to capture and preserve who we were, but who we are (at least, who we think we are, or who we want others to think we are). What we choose to include in our self-portraits, artifacts of our hobbies, interests, and favorites, tell as much about who we are as what we leave out tells about who we aren't.

Recently, we looked at the self-portraits of two street photographers: Lee Friedlander and Vivian Maier. Both bore some uncanny similarities.

Their tendency to take photos of their shadows and barely visible reflections can potentially tell us something about who they were as artists. We can see these types of “self-portraits” as statements about the place and work of photographers. They worked in the margins and shadows, mostly unnoticed. This is especially true for street photographers who aimed for raw, candid photographs. In this photograph, it's like Friedlander is saying “look how close I can get and still be unnoticed.”

Even though Maier did take many perfectly clear self-portraits, almost none of them were developed, and certainly not exposed to the world. That act (or non act) is part of the portrait of Vivian Maier. Her secrecy was an essential part of who she was, and why there is so much controversy now that she is gone.

Friedlander, on the other hand, has this very clear, very close image of himself that he then develops and produces. He asserts himself into his photography as both creator and subject, and shares this assertion with others. This just goes to show how the two photographers, while they may have their similarities, were in the end very different people.

Back in the present day, we can still derive a lot about a person’s personality based on the self-portraits they present (or don’t present) to the world. For now, I’ll share my own self-portrait, to add to the collection of exponentially growing visual autobiographies.

For reference, the adorable toddler is not me. She's my niece.

Who We Were(n't)

We've all seen these types of photographs before. Children, pausing from their activities to look at the camera, and smiling. They are an almost expected part of childhood for many people. Parents want to capture this moment in time, their child at this specific age.

If asked to describe the children in this photo, one might say they are happy children. They might say that they are energetic, that they like to play. Just looking at this photo people develop in their minds their own version of these children person based solely on appearance. And by the nature photography, that’s really all we have to go on.

Being a primarily visual experience, photography is almost designed to be deceptive. No matter how wide a lens a photographer uses, the frame will inevitably end, leaving something out. And no matter when the photograph was taken, the subject (or subjects) are bound to change. You can never be sure by looking at a single photograph what that person or place is really like.

This is especially true of photographs of children. You can almost never make an assumption about a person based on a photograph of them in childhood. Childhood in and of itself is a period of growing and of transition. We are very seldom the same people now as we were then. Photography tries to capture who we were at that moment, to help others hold onto the memory. But even then, is the person captured in the frame who we really were, even back then?

For instance, the girl furthermost left in the photo appears cheerful. But, for all we can really tell she could have been a quite petulant and disagreeable child. We have no way of knowing one way or the other. This isn't what first comes to mind when viewing these types of photographs though. We don’t think: “I don’t really know much about these people,” but instead immediately begin to construct a personality around what is apparent to us in the image.

Photography then can be deceptive without even trying to be. And it’s not the physical paper and ink of the photo that is deceptive, but rather how our minds react to them and the conclusions we sometimes draw from them.

(image from galleryhip.com)

Conversation with an Image

I (the text) am tasked with describing you (the image). I must translate your meaning and message from colors and shapes to letters and words. Simple enough. You aren't that difficult, you see. A person standing in the road, dressed in a soft blue coat and warm hat, with one hand extended in the air to catch a snowflake. Where? Maybe a farm; there are two fences and deep red colored buildings in the distance. There. An image of a moment in time. Simple.

More? Alright then. Maybe you have another meaning. Perhaps you emphasize enjoying the small things in life. Stopping to indulge in childlike wonder for even the simplest things- like snow. Appreciating nature.

Again? Oh, I see now. The hand reaching to catch a single flake represents the futility of some of our efforts. For, even if one lands in your hand it will surely melt in mere moments. No matter how much we try, some things simply cannot be achieved. Perhaps you say something about perseverance- tenacity in human nature. Even when we know our efforts will be for naught we cannot help but try again and again. We keep reaching for the snowflakes only to have them disappear.  

What now? Do you want me to describe the street? There’s nothing there- wait. Maybe that’s just the thing- solitude. The lone figure stands in the middle of the road and takes a moment of solitude. Is that the theme you were hoping to convey? The figure’s face is not visible, but their posture suggests contentment and relaxation. The soft lighting and light colors support this mood. Maybe you seek to encourage taking moments to oneself. Maybe…

I give up. Clearly, the only thing that is certain is that there is no one certain way to interpret you. Good day.

image from wallpaperswa.com