In the forest and meadow at dawn

Once a farm, now a Massachusetts Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in the Boston suburb of Belmont, relatively high in altitude, a multiplex of pond, meadow, forest, garden, and old home, our Fall Light photography workshop investigated this portion of earth called Habitat during sunup for four hours. We explored the topic raised by one of my female students in Gaza about one decade ago: "Mr. Skip, how do photographs mean?" One of the most profound questions I've been asked in some 5 decades of teaching.

Exercises for how photographs mean—or how to express meaning thru photography

Juxtaposition—two or more things when combined present more than the simple sum of the parts, aka, synergy.

Symbol—a culturally defined object like the American flag.

Similitude—something that looks like something else, such as the Washington Monument for a phallus.

Synecdoche—part for the whole.

Metaphor—the visible suggests the invisible, such as tree of life, water of purity, sun as radiance.

As well as:

Sequence
Context
Captions
Other writing and other materials like maps

"Habitat and neighbors threatened with over-development," by Roger Wrubel (March 2017)

Photos about Habitat by Skip Schiel, summer 2011

And in spring 2007

Photos by Skip Schiel & Teeksa Photography

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