Between the Idea and the Reality … Falls the Shadow

A quick post to alert you to a very interesting discussion taking place on another blog, Errol Morris' Zoom, hosted by the New York Times.

You might remember some of Morris' films--he's most famous for The Thin Blue Line, and The Fog of War, which happens to be one of my favorite movies. The Times has charged Morris with "uncovering the hidden truth of photos," and he's taken the responsibility quite deeply to heart, with in-depth discussions of the space between the idea and the reality.

His post from last Tuesday weighs in at about one gazillion words, but don't let the length deter you. His measured study of two famous photographs of "The Valley of the Shadow of Death," taken by Roger Fenton in 1855, during the Crimean War, is totally engrossing. Times readers respond with their takes on the theories Morris presents, and they have just as many insightful comments as he does.