"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see."

In a world that is constantly changing and moving further; advancing faster and faster, we tend to rely more on visual aid. Writing or text is slipping faster into a void, being replaced by pictures and info-graphics that are more direct and perhaps more fluent in dictating messages or coming to aid. Maybe it’s the very make of the human mind, or perhaps it differs from person to person, but a higher percentage of people are dependent on visuals for their memorization.

In such an environment photography is no longer a tool of merely capturing the emotion, but it has become a landmark for memories and a narrative seeker. We continue to seek stories in images, that’s how we hold on to them. We try to develop connections hence linking and locking it to memory. Connecting images with stories that further link them to the person’s own memory is also a way of documenting them to be used later for reference, perhaps.

At first glance, a picture can be merely pretty, depressing or good. But looking closely we find many a stories unraveling there. The story of the character, and that of photographer are the most direct ones. However, the characters may be directed to follow certain patterns and imply specific thoughts to be set in motion in the viewers’ mind. Even so, it’s not just human or animal characters that have tales to tell in photographs. Buildings and landscapes (especially the ones that hold a history*) sometimes have far more intriguing tales to tell.

But there’s more to it; elements of design are as important to photographs as they are to paintings. Shadow play, object placement and line repetitions that we so very often look over while running through photographs are not just background elements; these are the things that make subtle changes to the pictures, making them more harmonious and allowing your eyes to wander and absorb, seeking much more from the picture than your subconscious allows you to wonder.

The question is, would you take time to marvel over the dynamics of photography the next time you hold a picture?

-Momina.

*World War I in Photos: A Century Later