Through One Eye

A metaphor is an implicit comparison of one thing to something else: “my love is a red, red rose”. A simile, of course, is a kind of metaphor that makes the comparison explicit using “like” or “as”: “my love is as beautiful as a red, red rose.”

Thus writes Harold Davis in his article Myths, Metaphors, and Digital Photography. Unfortunately, Davis concentrates on the links between film and digital cameras and processing. I’m more interested in the subject and when or if photographers use metaphors to convey a story.

For example, in this photo shot by Howard Marsh, the metaphor could be love of dogs, sharing a moment (the Labs love it when I sit at their level or point of view), or the viewer might see nothing of the kind.

In expressive photography, we rely on visual symbols to represent abstract ideas. A symbol stands for something with a larger meaning. We may also call them metaphors. Some of the most famous photographs endure because of their symbolism”

Thus begins a tantalizing article in pbase.com entitled Using symbols and metaphors to express meaning. The writer accompanies each photographic example with text explaining his reaction to the metaphor — far better than I could here. But I’ll give it a go.

For those familiar with rutting moose in the fall, this photo might convey autumn, an end to a season, and, had I left the suburban sight of powerlines in the photo, wildlife accommodating to life in the ‘burbs of Alaska. Or, in this case, not man versus nature, but man and nature, and especially nature and people with cameras coexisting. The hedge can always be replaced, while the moose are necessary for the balance of diversity in nature. But that’s fodder for another post, perhaps.
(© Photo by Jan Timmons. Photo above by Howard Marsh)