<p>In the rush to capture, post and consume images, we forget to pause, to ask, to listen to the story behind the picture which is often the only way to truly see it. When we look at photographs stripped of their stories, we risk reducing real lives and living to spectacle as the truth often lies beyond the frame.</p>.<p>Recently we were out shopping for a used car for my elder daughter so that she could commute easily in her university town. It took us several days of research and then two days of focused test drives to finally select a car that met our budget and requirements. However, when we went to pick the car up we were told that while detailing sudden issues had cropped up that rendered the car unfit for sale. </p>.<p class="bodytext">We were mighty disappointed and tried looking for more used cars but the momentum was gone. Finally, in resignation or judiciousness or both we decided to buy a new car instead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We sent pictures with this new car to our family and friends and their reactions were congratulatory, none of them really understanding the sequence, deliberation and thought behind what they saw. </p>.<p class="bodytext">A photograph may still be worth a thousand words, but without its back story, those words risk becoming hollow, abstract, or misunderstood. Every photograph has an untold narrative, a context, a truth about the human condition which we often miss when we are only skimming the surface. Even though it might not always be possible to know the story behind an image, let us not get carried away by what we see but remind ourselves that there is more to what we see; photographs are not just aesthetic or emotional occurrences, they are human records of experiences that are unique as they are universal. </p>.<p class="bodytext">A photograph is a portal that invites us to step inside someone else’s world, to become more than spectators, to become participants in a deeper kind of seeing, knowing and understanding. We then realise how even though the images seem disparate, our experiences are relatable and homogeneous. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Next time a picture piques your interest, let your eyes take in the dance of light and shadow, the play of color and contrast but let your heart seek relevance and meaning that lives beyond the lens.</p>
<p>In the rush to capture, post and consume images, we forget to pause, to ask, to listen to the story behind the picture which is often the only way to truly see it. When we look at photographs stripped of their stories, we risk reducing real lives and living to spectacle as the truth often lies beyond the frame.</p>.<p>Recently we were out shopping for a used car for my elder daughter so that she could commute easily in her university town. It took us several days of research and then two days of focused test drives to finally select a car that met our budget and requirements. However, when we went to pick the car up we were told that while detailing sudden issues had cropped up that rendered the car unfit for sale. </p>.<p class="bodytext">We were mighty disappointed and tried looking for more used cars but the momentum was gone. Finally, in resignation or judiciousness or both we decided to buy a new car instead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We sent pictures with this new car to our family and friends and their reactions were congratulatory, none of them really understanding the sequence, deliberation and thought behind what they saw. </p>.<p class="bodytext">A photograph may still be worth a thousand words, but without its back story, those words risk becoming hollow, abstract, or misunderstood. Every photograph has an untold narrative, a context, a truth about the human condition which we often miss when we are only skimming the surface. Even though it might not always be possible to know the story behind an image, let us not get carried away by what we see but remind ourselves that there is more to what we see; photographs are not just aesthetic or emotional occurrences, they are human records of experiences that are unique as they are universal. </p>.<p class="bodytext">A photograph is a portal that invites us to step inside someone else’s world, to become more than spectators, to become participants in a deeper kind of seeing, knowing and understanding. We then realise how even though the images seem disparate, our experiences are relatable and homogeneous. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Next time a picture piques your interest, let your eyes take in the dance of light and shadow, the play of color and contrast but let your heart seek relevance and meaning that lives beyond the lens.</p>
