What a wonderful twist to the discussion - reality. Thank you Hikari.
I recently visited Clyde Butcher's gallery in Venice, FL. (Wonderful place, and wonderful people. Stop by and visit; they'll give you a tour of his very impressive darkroom.) One print shows a beautiful, tranquil stand of trees in the south Florida swamp. It is an absolutely stunning (and huge) print. The caption beside the print describes the difficulty in obtaining the shot, as Clyde and his camera were precariously perched on the edge of a busy four-lane highway. The print shows no clue of that reality. I remember thinking at the time what an interesting juxtaposition it would have been to have taken the photograph from the far side of the highway, with the speeding traffic against the timeless backdrop of the swamp. Which photograph would have more accurately reflected the reality?
As photographers, we choose our reality. It is a matter of our experience and training (and intuition) to compose a shot to include or exclude certain elements, or to manipulate lighting and depth of field to bring emphasis to where we want it to be. We can choose to give hints as to what exists outside the edges of the photograph, or intentionally conceal that reality. Similarly, we can choose to take a photograph in a way that suggests what is taking place before or after the shutter is clicked... or not at all.
Somewhere in between this all is the reality that we, as photographers, choose for our audience to see.
"Reality, what a concept." - Robin Williams