"Pictures seize the microphone, and if they're good, they don't let go." This statement is absolutely true. Words may describe to you what happened, but a picture shows you. It gives you a sliver of insight that your imagination couldn't possibly come up with. A snapshot of history, that is undeniably there, proof of the event or happening in concrete evidence. There is an ongoing battle over whether a picture conveys the truth or not, and I believe this article puts it right in its final sentence, "not the truth, but a stand-in for the truth that will not leave the thoughts of those who saw it." That is the definition of a riveting picture. Something that you obviously weren’t there for, but know happened because of the photo. The picture conveys meaning. On the surface it’s just a blunt, straightforward tangible thing, but behind it is the intangible thoughts and feelings it creates. The article said it correctly, “you don’t need to see them to see them (speaking of enlightening photographs).” Some people argue that cropping, or resizing, or enriching the color changes the meaning of the photograph. “But meaning is determined long before that.” As soon as the shot is taken, the meaning of the picture is there. Even though the picture goes through a process of selection and sizing and judgment, the message always outs.
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