ThirstyFish

A picture is worth a thousand words! Right? Not always. And sometimes, "As the Chinese say, 1001 words is worth more than a picture." * *

Particularly with the popularity of the Internet we have reached a stage where Information Overload and Sensory Overload are becoming more common human experiences. Currently, Flickr has over 5 Billion photos and counting. If each is worth a thousand words, then that's just too many words...

Some images get their context from history. As long as we are familiar with the events that they portray, they are self explanatory. Iconic photos such as Earthrise, Vietnam Napalm, Migrant Mother have become the classics of their times. "Earthrise" has became one of most representative images of our first steps in space. Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II. Migrant Mother has became synonymous with the Great Depression.

Most photos that we encounter are images with limited context and a limited audience. Some images, those such as pictures of our family members, weddings, portraits are only interesting to ourselves. Fashion, sports, celebrity photos are really only interesting to the people that follow them. Nature, wildlife, travel photographs can be photographs with a "wow" factor but are still limited to certain audiences.

Ultimate photographs are context-free and universal ones. They can be photos from any genre but they transcend our need to understand their specific context. The photo Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren at Romanoff's does not require that you know who Jayne and Sophia are. Afghan Girl is another photograph that transcends its context. It is much, much more than just a portrait of a poor refuge girl...

Unfortunately, universal images that transcend context are few and far between. The next best thing might be to assist the audience by adding a few words to seemingly everyday images. This website aspires to do that. 2011-01-24

The writing on this site is not meant to be taken seriously. The writing here reflects a combination of boredom and curiosity; a new way of taking notes, scribbling ideas and humoring oneself.

.. ThirstyFish