Once I read an article where the author stated a reason why people love a still image. He said that the human mind is one that remembers moments in singles frames, one image that will tell the story for the rest. This got me thinking. Give a person an image and they can stare at it for hours, give a person a video clip and they want more. It’s almost as though we consistently miss the still points of life and seek the more action that a video clip gives us.The Interpretation:A special aspect of photography that I find intriguing is that of interpretation. Everyone interprets a still image differently. I find a video will interpret itself, where a still image will leave a freedom to the viewer to make up their own interpretation. Ask ten people what they feel an image is saying and you will undoubtably get ten different answers. While the photographer will tell one story, the audience will interpret it slightly different. A type of paradox that we as photographers need to deal with on a daily basis.The Story:Being able to tell a good story, that is a true gift. Following in after interpretation we come to the point in interpretation where the photographer wants to tell his/her’s own interpretation of the events happening. Speaking in a very general terms, the story that the photographer will tell is one that will speak through a single image. One moment in time that encapsulates millions of them. The story behind an image will sometimes be clear within seconds of looking at an image, other times it will take hours or even the photographer telling the backstory behind the image. Photography is creating meaningful stories out of unused/unseen moments.There is always something alluring about a still image. One image that I constantly think of in this instance is the image of a girl from Afghanistan that Steve McCurry took for National Geographic. One thing to clarify here, I am not talking about the attraction of an object or person, I speak in terms of the ability to connect with a object or persons being. Now I may have just lost some of you on that statement, but stay with me. As I was speaking before, a still image gives us the ability to freeze moments and tell a story through a single moment. The ability to do this is invaluable and gives us the ability constantly go back and reconnect with a moment or through our interpretations connect into what the real moment felt like for the photographer.As you look at the image of this girl, your first feelings are probably that of her eyes. Yes, she has beautiful eyes, but is that what is really drawing you in, or is it that an amazing story is being told through this stilled moment. The colours combined with the facial expression and the slight bit of dirt on her face compliment what we already feel through looking at her eyes. The attraction draws us back again and again. The romantic affilation with a moment in time we had nothing to do with but in a way we feel we do, after looking at the image.The Conclusion:Sorry, this didn’t really need a conclusion mainly because I feel my thoughts are not yet out in full, nor do I feel this is in no way a conclusive statment. This is merely my way of verbally getting out ideas or thoughts that I have, and I hope for others to maybe join in on the conversation about it.More to come, soon… Cheers!- Jordan N.