Context clues. I like this image, but I also like reading what HHS contender Sarah Wilmer has to say about her work.

"Looking back, I think I had an unusual relationship to the act of making these pictures and then even to the the resulting prints. That was about a hundred years ago and I am still photographing in a driven, obsessive, fun sort of manner."

and

"I am inspired by Edward Gorey, Joanna Newsom, 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, my cat Tubs, my friends and the surrealists ... I am submitting photos from my most recent body of work that I think I finished about two weeks ago. There are flying cats, a fox, an amazing Latvian woman nearing 90, the oldest oak tree in the country, sleeping climbers, mystery and moments full of possibility...."

Don't be afraid to talk about yourself, and about your work.

I don't know what's going on in this photo, but it doesn't matter. The setting in Wilmer's work is rich, the cast and poses intriguing. There are stories in it.