These images prove you need context to appreciate photography

Kevin Griffin has a photograph of a cow swimming. It features in this year’s PhotoIreland Festival. The photo, which is taken in Connemara, close to where Griffin lives, is shot at the water’s surface level. The cow is making its way through the water, with half her head above the water, and she’s being half-pulled by a rope.

She glances across at the camera. Ángel Luis González Fernández, the founder of PhotoIreland Festival, says you have to understand the background to the picture to appreciate it.