The Gloss Over

Look at the picture above, really concentrate on it, dig into it. Seems like a very odd task for someone to ask for? It is, but to truly understand the meaning of this article it will take more than the usual glance at the photo.

What do you see?

You see the ground, where snow and ice lay upon the concrete. In the corner you see the sun's reflection, and what seems to be the beginning of a building.

Now look again. Look deeper than you did before. Look for the small things, the details you didn't notice before.

What do you see?

You see the bumps of the ice, forbidden in its skin. You see the shadow of light and dark. You see the bumps of snow and the unevenness, but yet see the smoothness of the ice. You realize that there is a divider, a small pile of snow protecting another set of ice or water that is a lot more revealing.

Now look at it again. Analyze each and every detail you notice and find out what could be the meaning.

While looking at the picture ask yourself questions such as;

• What could this mean?
• How could this relate to me?
• What do I feel looking at this?
• Why do I feel this way looking at this?

Combine your thoughts together and see what you can come up with. There are a million possibilities.

What do you think this picture’s story is?

Maybe you see a soldier. A strong person, a person who is ready to fight, despite its faults and the wounds it has already produced. Those wounds, those bumps in the ice, maybe you look to them as character. As if they are beauty marks and that is what makes them special. Maybe the snow, the blockade, is a wall. It's a wall in between what he wants to forget and what he wants to remember. The first side is so big, because he wants to forget the awful things he has done. He wants them to disappear, but they can’t. They cover his mind, some of them worse than others. Maybe this picture is his cry for help.

Maybe you see someone, maybe even yourself in the picture. Maybe you see this person as broken, or fragile, as if they are at the point of breaking, and one more thing that comes at them is going to tear them apart, but they still remain standing through it all. Every bump is an obstacle that had once hurt them. Maybe the scatters of snow are their secrets. All the things they couldn’t tell anyone, that buried itself into them. Maybe the difference between the shadow and the light is what hope they have left in the world. Maybe it is their hope fading away completely. Hope that they will get help, or maybe just the simplicity of having the hope in the world. Maybe the small pile of snow is a wall, meaning everything in front of it is a mask. A mask that hides away the real person inside. The person that begs to come out.

Maybe you see a completely different picture. Maybe you see a happier side of the picture. Maybe you see someone getting back up, someone who has been down for a while. Maybe the sunlight is the process they already made. The heartbreak they have been getting over, or maybe a deceased friend or family member. It is them fixing themselves, or maybe even fixing a bad event they caused in the past. The darkness is the path they still have to go. Maybe it is a reminder that there is still a long way to go, a long journey ahead before everything is better. Maybe the reflection that occurs on the ice, the building is an obstacle they must cross, or maybe it is the part that they cannot erase. Maybe the picture symbolizes the struggle that it can be at times to get through simple tasks at a time.

Every picture is worth a thousand words, and each one serves a meaning and a purpose. What do you think this picture’s story is?

Photography

The value of every picture is great.