Looks Can Be Deceiving!

At first glance, what would you think was happening in this photo?

Nope. Baxter is NOT snarling or growling, or even unhappy for that matter.

I captured this picture of him at the end of his yawn (which Sarah is mimicing). He's only yawning while Sarah is leaning against him.

That's all. Honest.

But, boy-oh-boy, it doesn't look that way.

The false assumptions we could make about this photo make me wonder: how much of what we see in the media (print, digital, electronic...doesn't matter) is actually what's happening?

I could, if I wanted to, take this photo and present a case for the aggressive behavior of Labradors (how silly, really, knowing the breed as I do, and knowing they don't have a single aggressive bone in their bodies). The picture sure seems to make that point, though.

Knowing its context and knowing the real action in the picture, I could never use the photo that way.

But unscrupulous journalists certainly could.

Just how accurate is what we see on TV and on the news and in magazines and newspapers?

I suspect a healthy dose of skepticism (or at least critical thinking skills) is in order when it comes to photography and implied lessons or arguments made from photos.

Baxter's yawn is a case in point if I ever saw one.

'Til next time,
Joan