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?