ABSTRACT
Photography is an abstraction in the sense of 'abstract' meaning 'removed from'. While pioneer photographers and their viewing public took it for granted that the camera recorded some kind of scientific truth, this is most certainly not today's understanding of the medium. David Hockney referred to photography as a 'one-eyed man looking through a little 'ole'. Time and motion become the realm of the camera shutter which can to some extent freeze time or integrate a period of time into a single image. The aperture creates another optical effect unique to lens-based media depth of field. What puts meaning and message into a photograph is the photographer's intent. A complex set of visual games can be had where the subject can be clearly revealed and isolated from the background or conversely, the subject may be concealed in blur and the viewer intentionally distracted by the image-maker and given a visual puzzle to solve.
