Fun Pun Photos

The question is, why make a book of photographic puns, especially since the pun is often regarded as the lowest form of humor. One could extend the question to ask why is there photographic humor at all? The answer comes from Ansel Adams who stated that photographs are made, not taken. I take that to mean the photographer does, in the process of photography, impose his own vision and interpretation upon the subject, the image captured of the subject and the subsequent processing of that image. The result is a presentation of the photographer’s view of the world and offers insight for the rest of us about that individual’s view. Humor is an important part of our world. The comedic perspective helps us deal with uncomfortable issues in life as well as providing pleasure interspersed among the routine of daily living. Photos can be sources of humor as can verbal puns. Puns use one meaning of a word inserted into a context where an alternative meaning is expected. Also, the substitution of a word of similar sound for another, expected word. The presentation of the unexpected, one of the essentials of comedy, is the basis for pun humor. In my work, I use images and written words interchangeably to create the puns. My intent is to have the photographic images be of interest on their own and have the pun features to be an enjoyable bonus. This book is for people in one of two groups of people. Either photographers or people who are not photographers. The game is to uncover the meaning in a photograph given the clue on its page. The answer, at least one possible answer, will be on the next page. For the non-photographers, the proper response is a laugh, a chuckle or, rarely I am sure, a groan. For the photographers, often there will also be an explanation of the techniques used in making the photograph. My intention is to help other photographers in seeing ways to solve photographic problems in generating images, especially in a studio setting.