Thanks to Kent for pointing out this SMH article on the role of photography, storytelling and truth. The shot won the World Press Photo of the year and is set in Beirut. There's been quite a controversy over questioning which story the photo is telling - tourists amidst the wreckage of war; or people returning home? Do they fit they fit our stereotype of what war victims should look like?It raises so many questions about journalism, war and our consumption of images (which the SMH article points to). For me though the question raised is about the nature of photography and storytelling. Photography at its best is evocative and suggestive. It is never definitive - even when it first appears to be. Unlike a lot of mainstream media, photography should raise the possibility of story, allowing the viewer to recreate it within their own minds - with multiple possibilities extending out from the emotions and reactions brought forth.
See Mark's blog for some further thoughts.
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