Answer:
Although CC licenses get attached to tangible works (such as photos and novels), the license terms and conditions apply to the licensor’s copyright in the licensed material. The public is granted “permission to exercise” those rights in any medium or format. It is the expression that is protected by copyright and covered by the licenses, not any particular medium or format in which the expression is manifested. This means, for example, that a CC license applied to a digitized copy of a novel grants the public permission under copyright to use a print version of the same novel on the same terms and conditions (though you may have to purchase the print version from a bookstore).