Reading Photographs

There is so much to see in a photograph:

A man and a woman walking in the rain. We cannot and may never see their faces. They walk beneath an umbrella, stepping smartly away from us. The rain that falls around them is barely visible – recognized more by the sheen on the umbrella than by the actual shape of its descent. A warm rain – or cold. A summer rain – a winter fall of snow. All these are possibilities, but there is nothing here of certainty – only away. That is what we see. They walk – they direct their whole attention to departure.

From You Went Away, by Timothy Findley (published 1996)

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