Photography and how images represent reality play a large role in the society that we live in today.  Whether it is a photograph of the latest celebrity out on a shopping spree, an average person taking a walk down the street, or the tragic aftermath of a natural disaster, these images show the world the reality of whoever is taking the photo.  How this image is taken whether it is via cell phone, digital camera, or through the lens of a professional photographer also plays into the depiction the viewer has of the situation.  The device that the image is recorded on furthermore determines whether or not the image has been distorted from its original form or context.  However, it is the captions that provide an even deeper meaning and understanding to the images that we may view on a daily basis.  These captions provide the viewer with the background information that one may not necessarily receive from just glancing at an image.  It is the captions that allow us today to look back on pictures from the civil war or when America was still the thirteen colonies and be able to comprehend what is happening within that particular image.  This brings me to the conclusion that when people say a picture is worth a thousand words, that we don’t necessarily know what those words are or should be without the thoughts provoked by the caption.  The caption of the image stimulates our thoughts about the reality the image represents.