Analogiesº6 — The Camera Doesn't Lie, Does It?
Masato Seto's words provoke a deeper look at photography
Hello everyone,
If you're new to All Analogies, welcome! And if you're joining me from a recent post, you might recall that in Analogiesº4, we were discussing duality through diptychs, and in Analogiesº5, I shared 9 tips on leveling up your open call submissions.
This time, I want to focus on a single theme that's been on my mind lately: a powerful quote I heard recently.
The Unflinching Eye: A Quote by Masato Seto
My husband and I recently caught the very end of a talk by Masato Seto, one of Japan's prominent photographers. Everybody was still sitting down, but we only managed to catch the final five minutes of his presentation. But a few words he said have been echoing in my mind ever since. He was speaking in Japanese, but translated, it went something like this:
Why does it feel so real? That, I suppose, is the essence of photography—its allure.
It merely stops a moment of reality within the ever-flowing passage of time, yet it somehow feels more real than the reality we saw just yesterday.
What amazes me about the camera is precisely that.
The camera doesn’t lie. The camera never lies.
But perhaps we are the ones who misunderstand.
Boom. Just like that, he summed up the entire power and mystery of photography. It's a simple idea, really, but it hits you right in the gut, doesn't it?
For those unfamiliar with Seto-san, he is a renowned photographer in Japan who runs the Place M gallery in Shinjuku and was once an assistant to the esteemed (and my personal favorite) Masahisa Fukase.
Exploring the Paradox of Photographic Truth
We often talk about photography's ability to capture a moment, to freeze time. But Seto-san points out something more profound: that captured moment, that frozen slice of reality, can feel more real than our own memories. It's like our brains are unreliable narrators, constantly editing and embellishing, while the photograph stands as a silent, unwavering witness.
And that's where the camera doesn't lie part comes in. We trust the photograph, we believe it. But Seto-san throws in that brilliant twist at the end: "But perhaps we are the ones who misunderstand."
The Photographer's Choice, The Viewer's Interpretation
Seto-san's words remind us that photography, while seemingly objective, is always filtered through a lens, a perspective, a choice. The photographer chooses what to frame, what to capture, what to leave out. This act of selection inevitably shapes the image, imbuing it with the photographer's own interpretation.
And then there's the viewer. We bring our own experiences, our own biases, to the image. What we see is not just the photograph itself, but also a reflection of our own selves. A seemingly straightforward image can evoke vastly different responses from different people, depending on their individual backgrounds and perspectives.
Is Photography Truth?
So, is photography truth? Is it reality? Or is it just another layer of interpretation, another kind of story we tell ourselves about the world? Perhaps the answer lies in understanding that photography is both a record of a moment and a subjective experience. It's a dance between objectivity and subjectivity, between the camera's unblinking eye and the viewer's ever-shifting perception.
Let's Talk About It:
I've been thinking about this Seto-san quote for days now, and I'm still trying to unpack all its layers. It's a real head-scratcher, in the best possible way. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Seto-san? Do you think photography is more objective or subjective? Share your perspectives in the comments below! I'd love to hear what you think.
I've always subscribed to the belief that every photograph is a self-portrait, but I agree that even this is simplistic. Every time the brain recalls a memory, it overwrites it with a new story - and it's the promise of veracity that makes the medium so powerful. We often use it as proof of what we can't perfectly recall. "But perhaps we are the ones who don't understand..." Oof. I'll be thinking about this one all day. xx
Agree with your comment about our brains being unreliable narrators. I remember reading an article by someone in the know (neuroscientist I think?) who said your brain is not like a filing cabinet where you go and pull out memories as needed. Instead, it is creating them anew. Over time, these memories can drift. There are memories that I had carried for decades that I viewed as completely accurate until I saw a photograph that showed how far from reality my memories really were.