Thing #7

After searching through multiple photos, I found several pictures that interested me.  Unfortunately, this is not a site my students would have access to because our school system bans Flickr and other similar sites.  I had to use my own computer to view the myriad of potential educational pictures available.

As an artist, I have always been drawn to black and white photography.  As one can see in this Flickr image of barbed wire, the sepia film creates a stark somber tone in the photograph.  The film depicts the subtle effects of the texture of the smooth, sharp twisted steel and contrasts it with the blurred background of the field behind the fence.  When producing this picture, the photographer paid close attention to the time of day it was taken and composition he saw in his viewfinder.  (Color would have lost the intent of the photograph.) The sharp pointed barbs offer protection to the cattle housed behind the fence, yet a clear view of the tempting grass lying behind it.  The farmer who installed it hoped the cows would respect the sharp points of the wire, when in reality they do little or no damage to the cattle’s hide.  My father’s fences have strands of hair all in it.  Need-less-to-say, he is constantly mending it.  The barbs tear his clothing and scratch his arms, but in order to keep the cows out of his hay field, he must constantly maintain the wire.  His bull leans on the wire applying a little more pressure each time until it snaps.  The cows carefully place their heads through the spaces between the wires and eat as far as their necks can stretch.  The calves just step over the bottom wire and duck under the middle strand.  For that reason, I have dedicated this photograph to all the cattle ranchers who fight this battle every day.

 

Barb wire oldschool by isfppoet at http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/isfppoet/4379880854/