NYT - Lens Blog - Essay: Icons as Fact, Fiction and Metaphor By Philip Gefter

Philip Gefter, "Photography After Frank", "As a witness to events, the photojournalist sets out to chronicle what happens in the world as it actually occurs. A cardinal rule of the profession is that the presence of the camera must not alter the situation being
photographed. The viewer's expectation about a picture's veracity is largely determined by the context in which the image appears. A picture published in a newspaper is believed to be fact; an advertising image is understood to be fiction. If a newspaper image turns out to have been set up, then questions are raised about trust and authenticity. Still, somewhere between fact and fiction — or perhaps hovering slightly above either one — is the province of metaphor, where the truth is approximated in renderings of a more poetic or symbolic nature."

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/essay-4/

Related Link: Photography After Frank Essays by Philip Gefter
http://www.aperture.org/books/books-new/photography-after-frank.html

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