Artist and novelist Frank C. Etier has a unique understanding about creating images in words, as well as pictures. He’s a professional at doing both.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Every picture tells a story.

How many words does it take to form a picture in the reader’s mind?

The photographer in me finds the first two statements preferable to contemplate.

The writer in me strives to answer the question in as few words as possible.

The statements and the question are related.

Does it take a thousand words for a picture to tell a story?

Maybe if you’re William Faulkner, it does, but not if you are Ernest Hemingway.

Let me try one myself: We huddled under the loft inside an old barn to avoid the rain pouring in from the leaking roof. Is your imagination active enough to fill in the blanks and form an image?

Do you need more? Does a photographer need more? (If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know it when you get there.)

A photographer needs some creative ability.  It’s not just “point and shoot.” The shooter needs to be able to visualize what the final image will look like before he/she mashes the shutter release. You have to know what you’re looking for. If not, you’ll never find it.

When you know what you’re looking for through the viewfinder, your viewers will never forget it. Often times, a photographer will create hundreds of images to find “the shot” they want.

Likewise, a writer will throw away hundreds of pages to find “the words” they want.

While it’s true that a picture may be worth a thousand words, a good writer won’t need a thousand words on one picture when many less will create for the reader an image they won’t forget.

The artistic impressions of FC Etier can be found in the Art section of Caleb and Linda Pirtle.