December 21, 2007

The Truth of the Photograph

To the Editor:

The penultimate paragraph of Louis P. Masur's "How the Truth Gets Framed by the Camera" (The Chronicle Review, November 23) describes photographs as lying, seducing, isolating, and disconnecting in order to expose their true identity as mere interpretations, thereby impugning the medium's credibility.

But just because one snapshot doesn't present the whole story or the whole truth or anything beyond its frame or its moment doesn't mean it's a "devious lie." And