Glossary

Definitions:

Connotation- The deeper meaning than whats implied. All the social, cultural and historical meanings that are added to a signs literal meaning

Denotation-The literal meaning of the photo.

Context- The background and information of the photo.

Punctum- It's that rare detail that makes the viewer feel something and pushes the photo even further.


Semiotics- The study of signs and their meanings. Semiotics of photography is the observation of symbolism used within photography or "reading" the picture. 

Heather Angel-

This photo is from one of Heathers macro photography seminars. I specifically chose this photo from the selection because of how abstract it was and different from the others she had taken. Because of the abstract side of the photo it reminded of Imogen Cunningham's work but it shows more of a beautiful side to the flower, as seen from the colour of the flower, which is not a very common. Even though this photo is clearly of a flower, the first time i looked at this photo, i couldn't really interpret what it actaully  was of. So i had to think about it for a few minuets, i came to the conclusion that it was of a flower that had been taken apart and placed on top of each other in quite a weird way. To actually take the photograph the flower had ultimately been destroyed and so it isn't as beautiful as it would be if it were alive and in the earth. So, even though this photo to me is beautiful and very aesthetic pleasing because of the vibrant blue on the black background, and the softness you can see in the texture of the petals. Its actually contradicted by the flower being dead now just to take the photo, and its not just dead it had been destroyed and pulled apart, so its like as soon as humans see something that is even the smallest bit beautiful to them, they destroy the original beauty of it just to convey a different side of its beauty. Also when i studied the photo again at a different time, the flower started to look like chilli peppers to me, because of how the petals curl upwards and the positioning of the petals allows the viewer to see each one of them individually which then appears as individual peppers stated on each other. The punctum within this photo from me, is the bringing section of the flower petal that almost looks like some sort of seed. The one that stood out to me originally was the one in the centre of the photo, as you can see the shine in it from the light reflection. It also drew my attention because of how abnormal it looks in comparison to the petals, and i have never seen it before because i wouldn't typically take apart a flower, so it just really caught my attention. I think that this little part of the photo really adds to the photo as a whole, because the photo isn't just of flower petals, which is what i would normally see, so it makes the photo unusual to me.

This photo is also from Heathers macro seminar. This photo is similar to the one above as its again of a flower but instead of being pulled apart and only of petals, its of the whole flower including the steam and is still together. Denotation- contrast, tone...

The punctum in this photo for me is the bottom left petal on the flower, as i was drawn to this part first because this petal looks almost dead compared to the bigger petals on the flower. The petal looks dead to me because of how its curled up almost fully closed and how its very wrinkled. All of this typically happens when a flower is starting to die. So this photo now to me has a link to the flower above in terms of the beauty of the flower, this one hasn't been taken apart and 'destroyed' like the one above, but as it appears to be dying, to me its losing it beauty. Ultimately to me this pushed the photo even further because its not just of a flower but of a flower that is beginning to die. To me i find this quite original because normally i would just see  and take photos of flowers that have just bloomed or are in their prime time so thou would think that it makes the photo seem more beautiful. However,  just because the flower is young, it doesn't mean that it would look more visually appealing to the audience. And so in terms of of this photo i think that its symbolic in the way its of a flower that bringing to die because it shows that the flower is still aesthetically pleasing no matter what states it is in.