Percheron and Foal
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 1992
Definition of Anthropomorphic: Giving animals human qualities
In those days there was a huge wooden barn on the outskirts of Lancaster where Amish farmers bought and sold horses. The Amish needed draft animals such as Percheron and Belgians for plowing. They needed Standardbreds to pull their buggies. The Amish farmers were experts at judging horseflesh as their religion forbade the use of tractors and other mechanical means of farming
The farmers wore flat black hats, baggy pants with suspenders and ankle-high lace-up shoes. They walked with the long, loose stride that comes from following a plow through churned-up earth for untold miles. The women wore delicate bonnets covering hair that had been pulled tightly into a bun. Children, dressed like miniature adults, behaved themselves…mostly. Click the link below.
http://www.rosemarysheel.com/archives/brothers
The farmers wandered through the barn discussing the merits of the horses up for sale. When the auctioneer called the number of a particular horse, its owner would hop on bareback and ride it at a trot through the crowd of prospective buyers. The horse knew something was in the air. Nostrils flaring, his head would be held high, his eyes showed white and we all knew that he wanted to go back to his home. Is that anthropomorphic?
I shot this during my second year of photo class. I was enamored of Cartier-Bresson and from him I learned that geometry was important in a photo. Imagine my delight when I noticed, in the darkroom, that the backs of the horses formed beautiful curves flowing through my photo.