Finding the right photo to illustrate an abstract concept in a presentation isn’t easy. But this photo has the potential to help your audience actually see an idea.
Susan says, “I was immediately drawn to this photo. It was the strong contrast of light and dark, and, of course, the rigidly attentive squirrel with his ultra long tail. But it was most of all the dominating texture on the tree limbs contrasting with the feathery, slightly unfocused green and yellow leaves. That bark announces itself: silvery and metalic, deeply fisssured, plated like knight’s armor, fiercely protective of the tree. This is not a soft, quiet photo, but a strong and bold assertion. Massive tree limbs contort around a squirrel on heighten alert. The squirrel and the tree share a very similar color space of grey and brown. Both have picked up a green glow cast by the leaves. But they are wildly different.
How could I use this photo in a presentation?
I would love to have an excuse to use this photo in a presentation. Powerful images like this don’t come along every day. But what does it say? What abstract ideas lurk within this photo? Does it say something about masculinity and femininity. About power vs quickness. Soft vs hard. What do you think?”
Lucia says, “I’m pleased with the ideas Susan saw in this photo. All I saw was a small squirrel framed by massive tree trunks. The squirrel, looking as if he were ready to leap at any second, watched me as I approach him slowly and quietly. At one point he turned his head and I thought he would scamper off taking with him the focal point of this photo. But he turned back to look at me as if he were posing for his portrait. As you can see, my focus was simply to capture a squirrel sitting in a tree. And Susan saw a wealth of possibilities for use in getting abstract ideas across. It goes to show that even a simple scene can garner powerful results.”
