Day 2: Objective, then subjective

Today we read through the well done photo descriptions done by the class and looked for descriptions that stood out, discussed objectivity and subjectivity and their desirability, and discussed how all of these descriptions influence the perception of theme and tone in a piece of writing.

Describing a photograph with only visual details is not as easy as it sounds. Our minds quite naturally go beyond just basic details to interpret what one is seeing. And often this is done rather subjectively, drawing from things not present in the image. So making a concerted attempt to be as objective as possible is an important first stage, which relates to narrative distance. All of the word choices for all of the details are profoundly critical, as it is the chains of details that create a certain mood, theme, a character. Then you can move on to adding the subjectivity that a writer brings to what they have before them.

The next assignment is to expand upon the first through the use of a sensory imagination thats required to show what the other four senses would extract from what's depicted in the chosen photograph. This is necessarily quite subjective, we are leaving the objective realm. We are to use figurative language to compare, using simile and metaphor.