Common Enchantments

By MaryElizaR

It might be spring

We had a warm spell so the spring bulbs are popping up through the soil.  I don't know if I have had bulbs sprouting in December but it is a very false sign of spring since we are due for some colder temps this week.
 

Which reminds me of some words I jotted down that I read in the book, the Invisible Life of Addie Larue, by V. E. Schwab.   I liked the book immensely...a little weird (my kind of book!) but a good story and well written.  

Addie was talking with Henry about his photography and he said this when speaking of a photo of his family where everyone is smiling when in fact they were very unhappy and arguing moments before the photo.

"And in the photo, we all look...happy. I remember seeing that picture and realizing that photographs aren't real.  There is not context, just an illusion that you're showing a snapshot of life, but life isnt' snapshots...it is fluid.  So photos are fiction.  _____Everyone thinks photography is truth but it's just a very convincing lie."


Mind explosion with thinking about photos I take and photos I look at.  Portraits where all we see is a persons face.  We know nothing about this person.   A flower on a bush or standing up in the garden...we don't know about the location...only that single thing.   Landscapes where all we see is what fits in the frame.   Those moody b/w photos of part of the street scene...we don't know about the rest of the story or location.

Then I think about war photos or riots or other universal trauma that has been immortalized in photos.  These are a small part of the truth but also part illusion...as we don't see the rest of the story.  

I told you my mind was exploding on this topic. It may be that I will think about these ideas when I take photos.   Like showing spring growth before winter even steps into my flower beds.   Photographing illusions or lies might be the truth.  

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