Fences in Snow
Romania 2012
I went out on the open porch of the guesthouse in Bukovina. Snow had fallen the night before although it was already April. The cold air was invigorating: so fresh it had a smell or maybe it had a lack of smell. It made me happy but I didn’t have to go out to the barn to milk the cow or feed the chickens. I just went in to a hot breakfast.
I took these shots of fences in honor of Paul Strand whose photos I used to study. I remembered a shot of his with picket fences and an old New England cemetery. Although this looks nothing like Strand’s photo, remembering his photo made me take the time to find my own version of picket fences.
It pays to look at the work of famous photographers. When I started photography class, there was no internet so I used to buy books and pore over them, trying to embed the composition and contrast in my mind. My idea was that when I came across a similar situation, my memories would surface and I’d have an idea of where to start.