Connotations and Denotations

I found this website for the artist Michael Muller that is really amazing and has some wonderful images. 

These two images below caught my eyes and really made me think of the differences between connotations and denotations a single picture can send to our minds!

Denotations: 

As I look at the first image, I see a guy jogging in a roadway and his traced footsteps are on fire. He’s jogging in a deserted area with no sign of life around him. He seems to be just normally enjoying his run.

The other image shows the legs of an athlete who is wearing his running shoes and has scars all over his left knee. The background is dark and the image is in high contrast. The brand of the shoes is shown “Skydex” and there is a short paragraph written that talks about the fears people have about running and why it feels hard

Connotations:

Both images are advertisement for the running shoes company. As I look at the first image, I get the feeling that these shoes make you run much easier. It can be seen in the guy’s face as he is jogging so calmly but he seems to be going really fast by his fiery footstep. The running shoes are red as well and are good looking.

The other image also gives me the feeling that the running shoes would make me run faster. It’s shown that this person has hurt himself because of the speed he was running at. This is also complimented by the short paragraph. “In fact, if you’re running easy, odds are you’re not running at all.” Part of the paragraph says which motivates people to run harder by purchasing these shoes. 

Michael Muller's website is http://www.mullerphoto.com