[Rips of Reality]

When we view photographs, we tend to think of them always telling the whole picture (no pun intended). We pull them out of context, using them to give us the complete spectrum of a situation. If a photograph is altered, or the situation posed for the photo, we tend to think of the picture as being false. Errol Morris, in his interview with The Guardian, brings up a good point: all photographs are posed. "There is always an elephant outside the frame." Errol says. In other words, the photographer decides for us what is important to see, and what is not. He decides at what point his subjects are ready to be viewed. 

This is important an important counter to the idea that photographs tell the truth, especially in todays society, where photographs can be so easily altered. Photographs, while helpful tools, leave out the most important part of understanding a situation; the context. On a basic level, we leave out the surroundings. Even if a whole room is photographed, we leave out the hallway, the outside, the neighborhood it's in. Secondly, we leave out every other sensation we have; we cannot visit the room because we cannot smell the air, touch the furniture, perhaps taste the food. Finally, we cannot understand the social aspects, the context of experience. When one visits a place, he or she has an interaction that they experience. In some sense they connect themselves through a mental record to that room. When we view a picture as the whole picture, we are missing out on those little details we might notice if we were in the room, those things only we would care about.