Explosive Wave, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

An explosive wave in bright sunshine, captured using a high shutter speed, shows something we cannot see with our naked eyes because the action goes by too fast. Have a look at this photo in a larger size to check out what I mean.

So in what sense is a photo a literal capture of reality? My preference one way or the other is for photos that show us things we cannot see by ourselves. Manipulated imagery, close macros, and long exposures at night can all reveal magical and secret worlds—as in this case does a 1/1250 of a second shutter speed, with a look that more resembles an oil painting than a conventional photo.

Exposure data: 85mm, 1/1250 of a second at f/10 and ISO 200, hand held.