Plato’s Cave
The author likens photography to the concept of Plato’s Cave, that it merely shows us representations of the real world. All we know about reality is what we can see in the photographs available to us through the information that is given. Although the individuals in Plato’s Cave cannot experience reality for themselves, we do. The author argues that while we could experience real life for ourselves, we think of photos as sufficient substitutes because they make us feel like the world is more available to us.
In daily life we would not be able to pause and look at what a spark from a lighter would look like. But cameras allow us to take an incredibly fast moment and freeze it.
The meaning of this photo is far from explicitly stated, but it is a gas pump button that exists in reality. Not only is it physically distorted, it is also conceptually distorted because it is open to an infinite amount of interpretation.
This photo has the potential to outlast me far beyond the point where my life ends. Family members will be able to use this photo as a reminder of me and imagine what my life was like at this moment in time.
I could use six paragraphs worth of words to describe what this picture can do in two seconds. Even if I did a perfect job at describing what this image looks like there would be two slightly different images in our heads, but a photo lets us see the same image.
If I were to say to someone that I was on a walk and saw a woodpecker in the trees there may be some doubt as to if I am telling the truth or not, but with a photo I can prove that it actually happened.
