Shashin developed here

These are the two kanji (Chinese characters) that make up the word "photograph" in Japanese: "shashin". I pass this place every time I walk home, and I like this sign.

There are two characters:
(sha = copy, duplicate, describe)
(shin = true, reality).
Shashin, a copy of reality.

Whose reality, though?

And where does "the willful creating" fit into this act?
Is it now a part of the reality that was "captured"?

And each person who views the picture extends that question a bit more by interpreting the picture.

So, what is it photographers are doing, exactly?

Great book on this topic: Susan Sontag's "On Photography". Brilliant. Fascinating.

IMHO.