I have been wracking my brain on my get-pushed assignment from
@nkawoods to take a photo in the style of my favorite famous photographer. My very first inclination was Eudora Welty because while she is best known for her writing, she was quite the photographer while she worked for the WPA during the depression in Mississippi. I wrote my Master’s thesis on a few stories of hers, and I wanted to pay tribute to her influence in how I observe my world visually and how I write about it.
Alas, time really got in the way of me using her work as inspiration for my own as it requires being among folks all the time to capture the daily ins and outs of life in a community.
So, who could I turn to as I really don’t know famous photographers at all? I thought to myself, “whose work have I actually seen—someone famous?” and I realized I went to an Alfred Stieglitz exhibition at the MOMA when I was in college back in the 80’s. Or, at least it seems like it was sometime around then. I also know that I love Georgia O’Keefe, and I’ve been playing with my cow’s skull in a few shots, so why not merge a concept for this challenge.
To do a little research, I looked up O’Keefe and skulls and Stieglitz. The result was O’Keefe’s hands cradling a horse’s skull taken by Stieglitz (see:
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/271610). I decided I would take my cow’s skull outside, use my tripod (because Lord knows it does not get much use!), and try to get in a position to accentuate some hand gestures. Simple enough, right?
This is the point at which you may say HOTDOG (for those of you who follow me and are looking for points) and you can laugh at the following scene—loud guffawing IS allowed!
To take this shot, I had to hit the timed release, run to the ground, cradle the cow skull and then pull my head back as much as possible so I wouldn’t be IN the shot. Over and Over Again. Oh, and I used the mono setting.
Many thanks to Nancy for pushing me! I loved the challenge. Unfortunately, I think this will be my only entry since I’m finally recovering from a sinus infection, and I’m just starting a new term teaching my Comp. I course.
I just came back from O'Keeffe" country in New Mexico. Got to see her museum in Santa Fe (where there were Stieglitz photos) and Ghost Ranch where she lived in Abiquiu.
Great photo!
I'm not going to guffaw! I'm going to Fav!