The Picture Not Taken: On Life and Photography

The title of this essay collection by photographer and writer Swett (Route 22; New York City of Trees) hints that it won’t be about photography in the narrow sense, and indeed, it isn’t. Rather, it’s an extended meditation on the entire field of memory, emotion, personal connections, and the larger world as these forces find expression in individual images. This becomes clear in the first essay, which begins with a discussion of virtual reality and then segues into a conversation about language and perception, the musings all the while nestled in the context of friends, family, and the inexorable pull of memory. The essays take readers from a brief excursion Swett took to Coney Island as a child, preserved in photos by his father, an enthusiastic amateur photographer. They also include a consideration of sunlight and the design of Shaker architecture, as well as reflections on nature photography and the challenge of seeing the world without preconceptions. By the final essay, it becomes clear that the individual pieces are linked by the author’s experience of a profound loss, and readers will understand the full impact of that loss as they absorb Swett’s final intelligent and moving words.