I knew this month’s theme of Isolation, prompted by the onset of a second Covid wave, would be challenging! Even though I embraced its meaning as positive (solitude, privacy etc), neutral (remoteness, withdrawal etc) as well as negative (confinement, desolation etc), it’s a complex concept to portray in a two-dimensional image. While I searched for relevant compositions, I sometimes felt I was “forcing the issue” or manufacturing a scene that stretched the meaning of the concept. However, these six images are selected from October’s collection of twenty two, which to my mind represent the closest fit and the best technical expositions:
(If viewing these images on a mobile, turn to landscape for best results)
Perfect solitude… shows a small caravan where someone lives out on the Somerset Levels - we’ve passed the time of day with him once or twice. Lost in her thoughts… is a projection of my interpretation: she could have been getting over a row with someone or trying to beat yesterday’s time for her walk. The boats in Abandoned… are on the River Brue near Burnham-on Sea and likely to have been stranded here by an extra high tide, never to be retreived by their previous owner/s. The magnificent oak in Standing strong… and the copse in Social distancing… caught my eye during two early morning trips to Copley Wood near Compton Dundon. Finally, a sunset trip to Ubley Warren near Cheddar found some rugged terrain between the old lead mines, showing off a vibrant beech shedding its leaves.
The key question is whether any of these images evokes some reflection of isolation in the eyes of the viewer and whether they’re moved to feel something of that emotion. If not, then some of my fears have been realised. However, how much does this matter if the image itself can be appreciated without the burden of an unnecessary categoristion? Sometimes I can over-analyse! What do you think?