What is a good photo?
I don't know how to answer this in general.

What is a photo that holds someone’s gaze?
That doesn’t let someone look away immediately?

There are many answers to that.
One that matters a lot to me: cognitive dissonance.

A photo of a flower.
Immediately, you recognize what it is.
At first glance.
Nice, you think. And you move on.

A photo with plants in front of water.
No, underwater.
– Wait, is the sky reflected here?
Is that opening a lake?
Why does the top shimmer?
What am I looking at?

The gaze stays.
The image tilts in the mind. Back and forth.
You search for new details. You go deeper. The gaze stays.
And so does the photo.

For me, cognitive dissonance means:
I think I understand what I see —
and in the next moment, I don’t.

These are the photos I find interesting.
These are the photos I’m looking for.