The speaker is the unidentified narrator of the poem who calmly details a black-and-white, smeared photograph featuring a fir tree, a slope, and a small frame house. Though initially presenting as a detached guide to the image's layout, the speaker shifts to a highly personal confession hidden within parentheses. Their precise identity and physical location remain obscured by the distortion of light and water.

The viewer, referred to as "you" in the poem, is the external observer examining the old, blurry photograph. They receive guidance from the speaker through the mundane elements of the terrain, including the tree and the house, before being challenged to look deeper. The viewer acts as an active participant who must commit time and patience to see the hidden reality beneath the water's surface.

The photographer is the unnamed, unseen person who captured the image of the lake and its surrounding environment. Their technical execution of the photo appears flawed, resulting in a "smeared print" with "blurred lines and grey flecks." Their specific connection to the speaker and their motivation for taking the picture remain unstated, leaving it ambiguous whether they act as a mourner, a witness, or an aggressor.