Equine Photography Workshop in Jackson Hole with Tony Stromberg

I'm hoping to participate in this AMAZING workshop next summer, and pursue my dream of equine photography. However, it's a little expensive. If you can spare any money, I'd love your help!

• Tony Stromberg: http://tonystromberg.com/workshops/equine-photography-in-wyoming
• DONATE: http://www.gofundme.com/5hd4dc

Theoretical Positions Response

I liked the idea of doing this through bullet points rather than a paragraph. Consider it artistic liberty.

The following are theoretical positions within photography:

• Realism and conventionalism
• "Does photography get closer to the truth than do painting and other forms of representation?" Two answers: realism and conventionalism.
• Realism: Include Dominique François Arago, Daguerre, Edgar Allan Poe, etc. Photography is the best medium through which to portray reality. Photography gave credibility to writings (e.g. Life magazine). What is portrayed in a photo was really there at one point in time - it cannot be fantasy because it actually existed. Uniquely transparent.
• "Few people realize that the meaning of a photograph can be changed completely by the accompanying caption, by its juxtaposition with other photographs, or by the manner in which people and events are photographed." - Gisèle Freund
• Conventionalism: Include Joel Snyder, Ernst Gombrich, Nelson Goodman, etc. Photography is no more better than any other medium because of "our ignorance of the historical developments in the invention and refinement of photography" (Joel Snyder). The methods seem natural to us now, but each way of taking a picture has been invented. Viewers are unaware of the representational system within their own culture. In addition, nowadays pictures are constantly being edited and tweaked, then completely transformed with programs like Photoshop.
• When I first read the argument of realism, I was in full support. After all, a photograph is a photograph. It really WAS there. But then I read the conventionalism point of view, and it reminded me of all the things we do to alter photos. Even if they are small, insignificant tweaks - the fact is, they are still tweaks. More so than the invention of photography or refinement of it, I think it is the manipulation that I've seen and done myself that convinces me that photography is not as "real" as we may think.
• Modernism and postmodernism
• "Early modernity is characterized intellectually by a belief that science could save the world and that, through reason, a foundation of universal truths could be established." Includes: democracy, capitalism, industrialization, science, urbanization
• Postmodernity rejects modernism. Seeks a just and egalitarian society. Emancipation from poverty, despotism, and ignorance. It is much less positive than modernism. Deconstruction guards against modernism.
• Michael Foucault: "knowledge is power that is too often used by a powerful few to impose their ideas of what they consider to be right and true on the majority"
• Modernism: 'work'. Individual at the center of the universe. Postmodernism: 'text'. Self is merely an effort of language, social relations, and the unconscious.
• Not really sure which one I prefer, except I really do prefer to be more optimistic, thankyouverymuch.

• More specifically in photography
• Modern: fashion photography < art photography. Desire to keep photography pure. Symbolist over narrative, realism over instrumentalism.
• Postmodern: exemplifies the political, cultural, and psychological experience of a society. content over form. Possibilities for mass-produced image with the knowledge of mechanical reproduction. Readily adaptable.
• Marxist theory
• critical social documentary, ordinary cultural artifact. words are needed to go beyond what the photograph itself offers.
• "Photography deals with surface appearances, and surfaces obscure rather than reveal the actual complex social relations that underlie appearances."
• So, Marxist theory is all about exposing corruption, and Marxism believes that photography hides rather than exposes. Though why, I'm still a little unsure.
• Feminist theory
• "Instead of changing the system, get women access." 
• "Sex is different than gender." Sex is what you are biologically ascribed. Gender is a sociocultural (political according to the article) construct that is used to define what a man or woman should be. The article says this is because of a hierarchical model: it is always better to be one thing over another. This gender construct is commonly one of the obstacles for those with gender dysphoria.
• "Feminism is instrumental." The article says to be feminist is a political choice - to resist and change the status quo.
• Photography and politics can not be divorced from each other. I can't help but agree. What influences a person's thought is going to influence his or her art, because art is a representation, even abstractly, of ourselves. Barbara DeGenevieve points out that art shows what was important in that time. By leaving out women, we insinuate that women were not important in society. When they are portrayed, it is from what men desire women to be, and what place in society, culture, and ethics men have ascribed to them.

Why would you give us such a long reading right before break? For shame....

"Look Between the Ears"

Look Between the Ears by Lauren Thompson | Make Your Own Book

Final Artist Statement

“Look Between the Ears” is a body of work based off of my passion for horses. I’ve always loved horses, and photography is a beautiful and powerful medium through which I portray them. I enjoy everything about horses: their movement, personalities and intelligence, and their strength, grace, and beauty. I found similar purpose with Tony Stromberg’s and Irene Suchocki’s photographic work. They both captured photographs of horses still and in motion, portraying all the attributes that I hope to portray someday in my art.

With these images I sought to find something deeper within myself that is why I constantly desire to photograph horses. I sought to capture a feeling that I experience when I ride: a sense of power and freedom, the wind blowing through my hair as we move and conquer the world together.

One image in particular, “Flight”, captured these feelings, where you can truly see the motion and activity through his flying and swirling mane, which is just what I had aimed to capture. I believe that this image especially translates that feeling of freedom that may otherwise be inaccessible to people who do not or cannot ride horses.

I hope that with this body of work, viewers may experience the world anew from horseback, and see and feel what I do, what the horse does. Perhaps, then, a narrative can be created from the images within these pages.

Lauren Thompson

November 2013

Artist Statement I Like

Tony Stromberg
http://tonystromberg.com/

After successfully spending over 20 years as a high-end advertising photographer in San Francisco, I found myself disenchanted, burned out, and ultimately receiving no nourishment from the work I was doing.  On the outside, I had everything anyone would want, but my inner landscape was barren and I began “searching” for my lost spirit.

When horses came into my life in the mid-1990’s, I realized that I had found my teachers, and the connection that I have developed with horses has helped steer my life in a completely different direction. Horses have taught me so much in the time that I have spent with them. They have taught me about the power of authenticity, honestly, and integrity, and they have taught mew the true meaning of leadership and relationship. They have also taught me about living in collaboration and community, rather than the model that our society embodies, which is about competition and “getting ahead of the rest”.

I feel my work is an homage to the equine spirit, and to the archetypal role they play in our lives. This is why I always photograph them without riders, saddles, bits, bridles or any other device that would interfere with their pure essence.

After publishing my first 2 books “Spirit Horses” and “The Forgotten Horses”, I am working on a new book which is my latest collection of photography, but will also include text about the role horses play for us as teachers and healers, and the profound lessons they provide for us… if we are willing to listen.

"Who Cares About Books?" - Reading Response

Reading Response
"Who Cares About Books?" - Darius Himes

Himes's article is both interesting and easily digestible. One of my favorite parts was when he talked about whether or not books would disappear (the answer is no), and how he gave an example of a child talking about his or her favorite bedtime book: no one ever mentions their favorite PDF. The wonderful thing about books is that they are more accessible than exhibitions - they are portable, and be viewed in whatever order and multiple times, and are easily shared. Photography as a medium lends itself to book format: it is 2D, easily printable and resizable. Some photographs are taken with the intention of being displayed in a book, not an exhibition - which I find completely fascinating. I would think that many people would love to see their artwork in a gallery. But then, I guess you can reach more people through a book, and while the gallery may end, the book will always exist. Himes reminds us that books should enhance and complement the photos that are contained in it, so that it isn't just a book with photos in it, but that the book itself becomes a work of art. I think that this is something that should be kept in mind as we use Blurb for our books, because we have the opportunity to truly make our beautiful within the pages of a book. This article was really interesting, and I appreciated how relevant it was to our current work.

Extra Credit Assignment

I couldn't seem to get my aperture to be any greater than f11. Since I couldn't get to f22, I just used another aperture setting instead (f3.6).

Aperture Manipulation (Part 1)

Foreground - f3.6, Shutter Speed 1/250 s

Foreground - f5.6, Shutter Speed 1/60 s

Foreground - f11, Shutter Speed 1/10 s

Background - f3.6, Shutter Speed 1/80 s

Background - f5.6, Shutter Speed 1/40 s

Background - f11, Shutter Speed 1/10 s

Shutter Speed Manipulation (Part 2)

f3.6, Shutter Speed 1/250 s

f7.1, Shutter Speed 1/60 s

f11, Shutter Speed 1/15 s

f11, Shutter Speed 1/15 s - Moving with the Object

Frustrated

I'm frustrated. I am really in love with the project I'm doing right now. I'm working really hard trying to make my photographs from the back of a horse into something both interesting and technically correct. The logistics of it are really difficult. To ride a horse well, with one hand, ride correctly, hold a camera at the right place, take a picture without always knowing where its pointing... Make the camera exposure be okay, hope it is pointing at something interesting, hope that something is in focus.

I'm more or less enjoying the photos I'm getting. However, after the in class critique we had today.. I feel like no one is seeing what I'm seeing. Is it because I'm photographically not accomplishing my goal? Or is it because I'm the horseback rider in the room, and the photos I'm taking are only speaking to me because I understand them?

I'm frustrated because I feel that everyone thinks what I'm doing is not enough. And really, I'd like to see all them try to do what I'm doing, and realize that it isn't that easy. And what I'm getting from it seems really awesome to me.

I don't want to change what I'm doing to please other people, or even my teacher. I want to photograph what I want to photograph. This is my project.

I'm frustrated.

"Remembering and Forgetting Conceptual Art" - Reading Response

"Remembering and Forgetting Conceptual Art" by Alex Klein

Alex Klein explores what place photography holds in the world of conceptual art. Traditionally, a photograph has been a means of documentation, and is almost always used in a way that it is an image that stands in for an idea. Klein draws from Jeff Wall's description of conceptual photography as "images [that] are consciously employed and constructed as the antithesis of the highly skilled modernist photograph." That is to say, when conceptual art first started becoming popular, it was seen as lacking of style, dry, and boring. However, over time the artists who once had their work described in such a way have become very famous and revered in the art world. Ultimately, we must look at what a photo is "about" versus what it may be "of", and we often have to look outside the photograph itself to find its true meaning as the artist intended.

Final Project Progress Report 10/15/13

Jackie and Eli

(c) October 2013

Three Inspiring Artists

Irene Suchocki
http://www.irenesuchocki.com/486427/wild-horses/

Natural Selection Craig Tuttle
http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free/42-17631969/wild-horses-running-in-field?popup=1

Sheila Rock
http://www.sheilarock.com/

Panorama Composite

Using Bridge to stitch a panorama together (photos by Brooks Dierdorff), composite image created with images found from the almighty Google!

Cartoon Network - in a field

Final Project Proposal

For my final project, I would like to photograph while I am horseback riding. I tend to wear the camera around my neck and use a timer to take pictures while I ride (full auto settings), hopefully taken so the horse's head is still in view. One thing I love the most about horses is their motion. It's hard to capture from the ground, because many times horses would rather just graze and sleep. On horseback, I can capture the motion and the feeling I get when I ride. I hope that through this project I can share those feelings. I intend to photograph from a walk, trot, canter, and maybe a gallop depending on the environment. In addition, I'd like to photograph the horse tacked up beforehand as part of the series.

Exploratory Images:

A Picture You Already Know: Discussion Questions

1. Do photos have more meaning in a group? (When photos are shown, are they usually part of a collection or one photo? Does the repetition take away from the photos?)
2. Are there any purely objective art forms? (How the viewer brings their own perspective to the image)
3. Does this new knowledge of repetition put photography as a medium in question?
4. Will there ever be a new photograph?
5. If there was a new photograph would we recognize it as new, or would it not be considered art because it is not in the realm of what we already know and accept as photography?
6. Is there a way to make the technology of photography your own, or is photography doomed to be the easiest medium to master and the hardest to have personal vision?
7. Do you agree that repetition is a defining aspect of photography? Why?
8. Is there an image that can stand on its own, or do you crave to know more about the photographs that were taken with the one shown/displayed?
9. Do you find yourself always comparing your art to other artists, or do you compete against yourself and your own work?
10. Can you stand on your own morals or must other artists define whether your art is good or not? Is that necessary?

Project 2

Five Rules:

1. Photo must be taken outside.
2. I must use "Auto Color" during the editing process.
3. My finger/thumb must appear in the peripheral of every photo.
4. Photos must be taken between 11am and 2:30pm.
5. My hair must be down by my face in every photo (potential to blow in front of my eyes).
6. Pictures will be of whatever subject I choose at that moment.

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

(c) Fall 2013
Lauren Thompson

Project 2: (Preliminary) Five Rules

My five rules.

1. Photo must be taken outside.
2. At least one object/section of the photo must be black and white, and at least one object/section of the photo must be in color.
3. My finger/thumb must appear in the peripheral of every photo.
4. Photos must be taken between 11am and 2:30pm.
5. My hair must be down by my face in every photo (potential to blow in front of my eyes).

Wet Scan Negatives

These aren't all my favorites, but are some of them. The last one is one of the ones I used in my final project portfolio for this class. I definitely enjoyed scanning these and editing them in photoshop, rather than just printing with traditional development. I'm much better at photoshop!

Oreo
(c) Spring 2011

Stormie
(c) Spring 2011

Stormie and Slick
(c) Spring 2011

Reading Response: "Too Drunk to Fuck"

In this article, Mark Wyse dissects the 'feelings of anxiety' that accompany photography - anxiety regarding the confrontation of the desire of photography. What do we desire to do with our photography, what makes you want to take that photograph? He examines repression in the art of photography, using two main examples: Nan Goldin and Christopher Williams. Goldin's photography is all about the connection she has with her subjects, her desire for them and her fascination. On the other end of the spectrum, the desire that Williams holds is much more removed and hidden. He makes his photography more about the camera, the photograph itself, the process, as opposed to the subject being photographed. Though clarifying that he is not saying that Goldin's style is better than Williams' or vice versa, Wyse is clearly more intrigued by the lack of transparency of Williams' photographic style. Wyse ends with the following:

Photography has shifted from being a discourse on trying to understand the world to a discourse on trying to understand ourselves. This has always been the case, only now it is more transparent--or less so. This is how the neurotic writes.

Reading Response for Creative Suite 5/6 Info

Facts I've learned!

• Spot healing doesn't require an actual reference point. It's like magic!
• TIFF and PSD files both preserve layers, but PSD files are more efficient.
• If I want to print an image, it is better to use CMYK.
• You can rotate your cropping border; and you can crop using the marquee tool (Image>Crop)
• When resizing an image, uncheck the "Resample Image" box; Bicubic smoother for enlarging, Bicubic sharper for shrinking.

Project One

The Real Project One!

Ethnic Eyes
(c) September 2013

Skirt Ribbons
(c) September 2013

Assembling the Jungle Armies
(c) September 2013

Not Project One

Pretend Project 1 (Actually not a project)
Because I was dumb. And forgot a key part of the project. Posting the 3 of real project photos next.

Pocket Junk and Profile
(c) September 2013

Profile
(c) September 2013

Profile 2
(c) September 2013

Essence of the Fist Bump
With Ashlé Williams
(c) September 2013