National Geographic 'Afghan Girl'

This is my first anylised magazine cover, I thought it was the most meaningfull and interesting one of them all. Although I allready know a lot about this photo, I will anylise this just as what I see.

Denotation- The girls eyes are very a striking green.

Connotation- This is emphaised by her eyes beeing in the presise centre of the two pieces of text. This draws the readers eyes staight into hers.

Denotation- The picture of an afghan girl is on the front cover of a world-wide magazine.

Connotation- This is quite a rare and strange picture as her eyes are green which is unusual for an Afghan as their common eye colour is brown. I think this is partly why they put it on a world-wide magazine.

Denotation- Her clothes are worn and she is dirty and scared (wounded).

Connotation- I think this sugests she is living in poverty. Maby she can not afored or doesnt have access to things that we have and take advantage of e.g. make up, clothes, soap.

Denotation- Her pupils are very small and are looking right at the camera.

Connotation- She is fightened and shocked and has not been photographed before.

A little bit about the photo

The photograph was taken in 1984 in a small village in Afghanistan by a man called Steve McCurry. The photographer was stunned by her striking green eyes and went out to look for her again. After 17 years he and his crew found her as an adult, she had been through lots with her familly and now is married and has 4 children, one of which unfortunally died in infancy. This is a photograph that you can compare to from her famous childhood photo (you can see how McCurry immidiently new it was her!):

If you would like to know more about the story visit this website:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0311_020312_sharbat.html

Task 2

Picture 1

My idea of Heaven

I chose this picture because it is what I imagine heaven would be like for me. It is an amazing painting and the artist has gone into it in so much detail. There are so many enviroments like the breathtaking mountains; vicious rolling waves and the calm cliff tops. It is really imaginative and it is realistic which makes you relate it more to reality. I have really fallen in love with this picture as there is so much going on in it so you can look at it for hours and still find new things. i think it is illustrating a perfect earth with no pollution and no poverty and humans destroying it. The painting would be the best place for animals and nature. This image makes me feel dreamy, calm and most importantly cheerfull!

Picture 2 

Abstract Rainy Evening

I have chosen this picture because it reminds me of holidays that i used to have when i was younger with my family. In the picture there are a father and son walking in the rain down a cobbled path in what looks like a park or forest. This picture is abstract art but it is also very clear what it is and means. The trees are leaning towards the father and son and they are very colourful which is reflecting off the water on the path. The father and son are holding hands which represents love and happiness considering the weather! The painting has a really warm and comforting feeling to it even though it is not very realistic. It really reminds me of a wonderland because of the way it is framed in with the trees on either side. I love the way the old fashioned lamppost's light warms up the image and changes the colour of the leaves surrounding it. It makes me feel really cosy and joyful because of the eyecatching warm colours.

Picture 3

Cat and Mouse illusion







I have chosen this image because it is really clever and funny! It is an  illusion of a cat and in the area of the cat's features there is a mouse. The cat's eyes are the mouse's ears; the cat's nose is the mouse's eyes and they share the same evil grinning smile! It is just black and white so you are not distracted by lots of bold colours and can just get on with solving the illusion. This image makes me wonder how someone can come up with such an imaginative drawing. I like the way that the two well known enemies can be seen as one, even though they are enemies they can still live in eachother. A bit like there is a mouse's personality trapped inside the cat and vice versa. This picture makes me feel scared as they both have the same scary expression!

 Picture 4
 



Me and climbing group in Dorset

I have chosen this image because unlike the others it includes me and people I know. In this picture the cliffs are where I went climbing in Dorset, it was so scary! The landscape is beautiful; the sky is a perfect blue and the sea and cliffs look amazing together. The cliff edge frames the group in and it is really clear- not blurry. The people look really happy so it seems as if they are enjoying themselves. This image makes me feel really thoughtful as it is the perfect image to remember the experience. When I look back at it I can see how high it was so I am really shocked!