Connotation vs. Denotation
The capture of light, translated onto a picture plane as line, shape and form presented in a two-dimensional object, is the photograph, or the denotation of reality. What the viewer feels, understands, or reads into the picture is the connotative meaning.
What draws us to a particular image?
Once you have mastered the machine, the camera, you are left with understanding the emotional components we are capable of relating to. Think about the images you are drawn to. Why do these images come to mind? Often times we are drawn to images that we ourselves are capable of making within our limited understanding. [...]