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Originally Posted by Terry O'Nolley
Photos cannot have inherent, quantifiable meaning.
There may have been meaning in the heart/mind of the photographer at the time s/he took the photo, but the result - the photograph - carries with it no absolute meaning.
For themes or symbols which, due to statistical happenstance, are easily recognizable by a large portion of the viwers, a tacit agreement on the photos "meaning" might be assumed but that does not impart actual meaning to the photograph.
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Hi Terry
I'm sorry, I can't agree with that entirely, whilst it's true that some photographs carry no obvious meaning other than they depict a scene, an object etc, other photographs can and do carry implicit meaning. For example, the nostalgic feeling one gets when viewing a photograph of a particularly beautiful and well lit scene that brings back memories of being there, or it could be that even if you're not familiar with a particular scene you still get the feeling that you would like to be there because the picture instills that feeling. Another instance perhaps is where you have spent many hours photographing wildlife and to have the feeling of intimacy with the subject returned to you all over again when you view the photographs. There are many instances I can think of where the photograph imparts "meaning" for myself and no doubt others!
nirofo.