Photography as Intrigue

Photography is debatably the first of the new visual arts media. As an art form it is inexplicably linked to the advent of modernity, and as such embodies a distinct sense, and interpretation, of reality. Photography is both void of perspective, and entirely perspective based. Part of what makes photography such an effective tool of propagandists is the inherent realism of the medium. No matter the subject's bias, this momentary snapshot tells a powerful story. But is it an accurate one?

In June of 2011 a series of riots broke out in Vancouver, Canada. As photos of police clashing with rioters flooded the news, one photo gained traction across the world. It instantly was dubbed The Vancouver Kiss.

The Vancouver Kiss

This iconic image embodied the notion of 'Make Love not War' and presented the consumer with a stunning alternative to the carnage in the foreground and background.
But the truth is a little more confusing. A second photo, moments later from a different vantage point tells an entirely different story.

Moments Later

The chronology of the event is quite different from the initial snapshot. Later investigative journalism confirmed the women had been knocked to the ground, and her boyfriend was desperately trying to keep her conscience.


Years earlier, a photo of General Nguyen Loan executing a vietcong prisoner on the streets of Saigon flooded newspapers and magazines. This truly iconic photo shows an execution in progress.

1968 Saigon

The look of terror on the man's face is human, as is the strong arm of the gun, the grinning face of the uniformed solder, and the faceless executioner. This photo is considered to be seminal in the US Withdrawal from Vietnam.
Yet the history behind this image is anything but clear cut. It was later confimred by US journalists that the executed, Nguyen Van Lem, had previously murdered one of General Loan's senior officers, along with the officer's entire family. The executed, Lem, was by all definitions a war criminal. Moral judgements remain about General Loan's summery execution, but the complete story is one quite different than the photo alone shows.

It is for this reason precisely that photography is a poor medium of storytelling. No matter how complex the image, or how carefully composed, interpretation, and the blindness of a snapshot without context always looms heavy over the image. As a photographer myself I have deep respect and admiration for photographic journalists and artistic photographers. Yet I do strongly believe complex narrative is a tool best left to film, and the written word.