THE CAMERA NEVER TELLS THE WHOLE TRUTH EITHER

I sometimes feel like I live in a world where the reality of it is a long way from my perception of it. There is a massive gap, which, for most of the time, doesn't matter at all.

Then, all of a sudden, the gap makes itself known, and it looks for a while like it does matter, after all.

I saw a photograph of myself the other day, surrounded by some giants. There they were, beaming, with their chunky arms folded, filling up the frame with their bright smiles and handsome faces. I was there, and unlike my over-sized companions, above my grinning head was empty space - more than half the length of the photograph - blank wall.

Now, at the time, I didn't feel like I was surrounded by gargantuan men. I felt equal to them in every way. I felt as though when we had conversations, all of the talk had happened at eye-level. I never once felt like a dwarf who had wandered into a grove of silver birches, busy chatting between their canopies.

That's what I mean when I say my perception is far away from my reality. From down here, at 5 feet and 6 inches, everybody seems 5 feet and 6 inches and everybody is the same as me - hey, maybe even I'm 6 feet tall in my head. But of course, the camera proves excellent at closing that reality-perception gap.

Then, I got to wondering, is it fair to assume that everyone else is the same as you, anyway? It's not just about height, after all. What if the same thing applies to intellect, to artistic ability, to wit or to sporting prowess? Sooner or later, the gaps between us will become apparent, even if we spend most of our time forgetting that they're there at all.

That thought reassured me for a while. Does it actually matter that I'm short? Not really, not any more than it matters how well we all play the piano or how fast we can run a hundred metres or cook scrambled eggs.

You see, the truth is that the gap itself is a matter of perspective, even when it makes itself known. There are more important factors going on in that photograph - things that everyone else can see all the time, that I can't see at all, or have a particular propensity to forget. These are things like kindness, humour, wit and gentleness, which the camera can do little more than hint at.

So while the camera might never lie, I have a sneaking suspicion that it simply doesn't tell the whole truth either.

In any case, who's to say that the camera isn't simply painting a different view of the same reality, and doing a completely two-dimensional job in a multi-dimensional universe?

And I don't mean to be unscientific about it, but honestly, I think I prefer the version that's in my head - because I believe it's closer to the real me.