I have found that describing what I see in an image before trying to understand what it might mean a very useful tool. This was really highlighted for me in Project 2 Building Analytical Skills. This seemed the perfect time to put some of my own images through this process and revisit Denotation and Connotation
I started by looking at some of the images without any text, describing what I see and then suggesting what these elements might mean. I am also hoping this will help me to understand which images, if any, are expressing their stories in the most effective way without text.
Image.1
Description: Trees and bushes with a pathway cutting through them and round a courner out of site obscured by the bushes. Overcast dull day with mist in the distance obscuring the view through the trees.
What might some of the elements mean: This reminds me of illustrations from “little red riding hood” (Fig.1) or “Babes in the Wood” It is a typical “scary” wood scene. The path disapears behind the bushes making us wonder what is lurking in there. The mist in the background is also synonymous the “mysterious” and “scary” The way the image has been shot means that the vewer is taken down the path between the bushes and then blocked, left wondering.
Img. 1
Fig. 1 Frank Adams’ illustration in “My Nursery Story Book”, published by Blackie & Sons Ltd. about 1930
L., S. H.; Babes in the Wood; The Whitaker;
It could be that part of the reason the images that include forests have remaimed in my memory is because of their “cultural” meaning.
The forest is one of the most common fairy tale settings. It is a place beyond the safety and familiarity of the town or village. It represents the unknown where anything can happen. It is outside of normal experience, and is both a magical realm and a place of danger. It is a place of freedom and wildness, where normal rules no longer apply. Strange events can take place in the forest, and it can be a place of transformation, where the hero overcomes various difficulties and finds his or her way home. It can also represent a hiding place where characters can take refuge, but it can also represent the things that we most fear. National Library of Scotland (Fairy Tales)
Image 2.
Description: Single lane seemingly isolated road going off into the distance lined by trees. Layby on the left with some tyre tracks in the mud. In the foreground on the right is a black car with the passeger door open wide into the lane. The car is on an angle with the front of the car sticking out slightly into the lane. It is not possible to see if there is anyone in either the passenger or drivers seat. The weather looks bright and is not either early morning or evening.
What might some of the elements mean: The tree lined road stretching off into the distance gives a strong feeling of isolation. It also could suggest that someone ran down the road and round the corner. The tyre tracks in the layby on the left are suggestive of the car in the image having parked and turned round or that there may have been another car there earlier. The car being parked on an agle could suggest that it stopped and parked quickly and without care – perhaps in a panic. The wide open passenger door seems incongruous and perhaps even sinister. Has someone escaped, or has someone been forced from the car. The fact that it is daytime suggests that perhaps the car has been there all night. It could be seen as unusual for a “crime” to be commotted in “broad daylight” The fact that we can’t see into the car makes us wonder if there is anyone inside. The open door invites us to look. We know that under “normal” circumstances we would not leave a car door open into the road.
Img. 2
Abandoned vehicles are synonymous with “crime” and or “tragic” events. Below is a car abandoned during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. It is common to use objects such as abandoned cars to highten an “apocalyptic” feel in movies.
Fig. 3 Rown Hardcastle. Abandoned cars of Fukushima
Image 3
Description: Tight crop of two bright blue garage doors. The on the left has an orange secure lock towards the bottom of the door as well as a normal lock on the handle. There is no information as to wether these garages are attached to a house or are attached to two different houses or if they are even attached to houses and not just more garages. There is a grey cobbled stone area outside the garages which joins a paved area that looks like it may be for pedestrians. Both up and over doors have a small amount of damage to them. The one on the right has a dent in the lower half of the door. The one on the right also has a dent in this area along with some scratched paintwork
What might some of the elements mean: The tight crop means that there are no distractions. Our eyes are focused directly onto the two garage doors. This makes us want to know why. Is there something inside? The door with the extra security makes us more curious. What is it that the person wants to secure. Having two doors, one with and one without extra security is highlighting the difference. The empty cobbled and paved area looks like it is waiting for a person to arrive and enter one of the garages or for a car to reverse up and load something into the boot. Garages are spaces where we not only store vehicles but more often than not they are where we store items that we do not want to store indoors or are too big to store indoors they also tend to be places where we store items that we are not sure what to do with but are not quite ready to get rid of. Garages are often synonymouse with “crime” as a place to store stolen goods or drugs for example. These will often be called “lockups” and are generally not attached to a residence but in a row of other lockups. Having two of these doors in this image might suggest that these are “lockups”. The dents could suggest something happening in a bit of a rush or a panic, someone trying to break in, a scuffle or a car not breaking in time.
Img. 3
Image 4
Description: Rough grass field leading up to a hedge and possibly a ditch that also contains some young trees. There looks like a ditch in the forground just behind the tree. The tree on the left is only just in shot with most of it cut off by the frame. Branches devoid of leaves protrude from it reaching into the centre of the frame. The sky is overcast with a hint of cloud making the scene flat with no shadows. There are no buildings in view.
What might some of the elements mean: The scene looks cold and a bit stark. The hedge and the dry grass looks a bit windswept giving a bleak feel. This feels more like moorland than woodland or forest but also has a link to the dark and mysterious side of nature. The Hound of the Baskervilles for example or scenes in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights. The hint of a ditch in the foreground could suggest that there is something in there, something that we can’t see. This is hightened by the branches of the tree on the left protruding out and curling over, as if pointing at or about to grab something in the ditch. The tree is cut off leaving us to wonder what might be in the branches above. Our eyes also tend to follow the hedge from the right into the distance, also suggesting that there might be something hidden in the hedge. There are a lot of possibilities in this image, but my own opinion is that the curled over tree branch is the element that adds some mystery to this seemingly unassuming landscape. I think there would have to be some other clues or text for this image to start telling its story.
Img. 4
Figures 4 and 5 which are illustrations for versions of the book and the film Hound of the Baskervilles feature the knarly branches of trees that look very similar to the way the branches are positioned in my image. They are almost like the threatening hands and fingers of witches or monsters.
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Fig. 4
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Fig. 5
Image 5
Description: In the foreground there is cracked glass or plastic and in the background and out of focus, trees or bushes and sky. The image has been taken looking through the cracked material. There are a couple of radial impact points and some general shattering. There appear to be no pieces missing and the material has held together. On closer inspection the shattered material is marked and dirty with what looks like bits of fluff, hair and dust.
What might some of the elements mean: Something broken is usually a bad sign. There appears to have been some impact judging, by the radial cracks at the bottom of the frame. The way the shoot is looking through the cracks and lightly upwards, could give the impression that this is the windcsreen of a car. It also appears that the shot was taken from inside the car looking out – is someone trapped?
Broken, shattered or cracked glass is often used in thriller/horror writing as a code for violent action. (Figs. 5,6)
Img. 5
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Fig. 5
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Fig. 6
Bibliography
Figure 1.
Available at: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/collections/imagining-little-red-riding-hood/
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Figure 2.
Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Available at: https://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/literature-and-language/themes-in-focus/fairy-tales/source-5/
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Abandoned Cars of Fukushima
Available at: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/big-reads/these-are-abandoned-cars-fukushima
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Figure 4
Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Childrens-Classics-Hound-Baskervilles/dp/0192743589
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Figure 5
Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/destro7000/art/Hound-of-the-Baskervilles-v2-195809307
[Accessed 14/02/2023]
Figure 5
Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6823368/
[Accessed 23/02/2023]
Figure 6
Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6823368/
[Accessed 23/02/2023]
OCAPhotography 