Cultural Experience: the farmer's market on pearl street

The farmer's market on Pearl Street was a cultural experience because it showed me what the local community outside of the University of Denver was like. Having been to farmer's markets in Kentucky, i knew the set up and atmosphere well. It was interesting to see the different products local vendors made and sold and how they compared to those at home. The most interesting product to me was salsa. It was common for vendors to sell home-made salsa in their booth, which seemed to be one big difference from the vendors at farmer's markets that I had been to before. Salsa is not a common product in Kentucky. 

The farmer's market on Pearl Street was filled with friendly people and great food just as any farmer's market should be. It was an opportunity for me to learn about the community that surround the University of Denver. I got to learn the best way possible, through my stomach. I left the farmer's market with a better idea of the community I joined by moving to Denver and a full stomach. I think the best way to learn about a culture is through food and I did that job well. I have returned since and plan to go many times in the future. 

cultural event: my first hockey game.

My first hockey game was a cultural experience because as someone from kentucky where only football and college basketball matter, hockey is foreign. We think of it as a Canadian game and therefore don't care about it. I soon figured out in Denver that hockey is adored, especially at school. The first think I learned was the football attire would not be accepted. In the SouthEastern Conference sundresses are commonly worn to games. In a cold hockey arena this would not work. Jeans, T-shirt and a jacket was what I wore and same with everyone there. When the game started I learned how fast paced and violent the game was. It was a mixture of soccer and football.
I spent most of the game asking questions and the other part screaming for people to get hit or yelling at the goalie in hopes of distracting him. I had heard that Denver was good at hockey so I expected my first game to be a win, but unfortunately my first 2 home games against Boston College were losses. This was the only disappointing aspect of the sport I found. I am a competitive person even in a sport I know nothing about. Those who were familiar with DU hockey explained to me that we had just played the number 1 team in the nation and that a loss was expected. If it weren't for the insane atmosphere I don't think I would have returned to my second game where the Pioneers won.

cultural event: the camera obscura, the denver art museum, light and enlightenment

This is a day that I will never forget. The entire trip was one big learning experience. This is when I knew that I picked the right FSEM. The time spent on the train downtown made me realize that all of these crazy girls will become my best friends, and that professor who claims his brain is mush is probably the wisest person i have ever met. Walking to the museum I learned the most important lesson thus far in my photographic education; it is all light and enlightenment. On the streets of downtown Denver I learned more than I ever had before about soft and hard lighting.
Once inside the museum I was surrounded by things that amazed me. I should have known it was going to be an amazing place when the sink sang to me as a washed my hands. We started in the photography exhibit and I was blown away by everything that surrounded me. Every exhibit made me feel that same way. After a beautiful lunch on the university bill we headed to the camera obsucra, a gallery that I fell in love with. It appears to be an old house, but don't let the facade fool you. This place may not be a chic gallery but it has more history in it than anyone can imagine. Run by the old and lovable Hal who has witnessed photography become an art form in his lifetime, this is a place every photographer should visit. Every piece will blow you away.
This trip is easily the best memory of my first quarter of college. I was surrounded by great people and great art.

Sally Mann

The most beautiful thing i found about Sally Mann's photography is her process. She uses the glass plate process that I have always been anxious to try. The photography of her children i can also identify with. Although some of those photographs are staged, others are created out of spontaneous moments. They remind me of my childhood going to the lake with my siblings. Sally Mann's photography is important because she photographs what is around her and what is important to her. Like a writer can only write what they know, Sally Mann only photographs what she is experiencing. In her latest show, a show about death,  the inspiration was her husband who is dying slowly of a muscle disease. I admire her for tackling the struggles in her life with her camera.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

This is a photographer that I had not heard of until class. After the video I was amazed that he was unknown to me. His photography is not only well known and beautiful, but it is historically important. Henri Cartier-Bresson traveled the world taking photographs, but what really amazed me was that he photographed the last days and death of Mahatma Gandhi. Although both he and Annie Leibovitz both specialize in portraits, Henri Cartier-Bresson does not photograph the famous. He photographs the everyday and the impoverished. His photographs are more striking because you do not recognize the person in the picture but you can associate with whatever emotion the picture conveys.

annie leibovitz

annie leibovitz has always inspired me. She turned her hobby into a career and then made that career legendary. She has photographed the most famous people in the world. Her photographs helped to create one of today's most famous magazines, The Rolling Stone. leibovitz has never been afraid of controversy or what public opinion will be. The amazing part is that even thought people may despise her photographs for being sexual or inappropriate, no one can ever deny how beautiful they are. I also think that I admire leibovitz because she has mastered the type of photography that I struggle most with, portraits.

destruction

For a few days I would pass this building being knocked down. sometimes people stopped to watch, other times it was like it wasn't happening, but on this day I saw a picnic going on beside it. People brought their small children to watch the building being torn down. I did not understand. Sure, it was interesting, but what would cause a parent to bring their child to watch. Little boys are fascinated with big trucks and construction, but take a field trip to a demolition site? I found the situation ironic. This photo is proof that I need to practice taking pictures without being noticed.  I tried to take this while walking and without looking directly at the subject. Although it is not artistic, it is the content that shocked me.

gross aliens

Since being here life has dramatically changed. Coming from an all girls school, I didn't know how I would handle boys in the classroom. I soon found out  how easy that would be to overcome and how difficult it would be to get used to living with boys. I make them sound like gross aliens, but let's be honest they're pretty close. In this case their immaturity turned into hilarity. The best part about making a big move and throwing myself into a new environment is being able to embrace that change. The new experiences keep life interesting. So when you're next door neighbor steals your roommate's robe you can laugh instead of feeling awkward. Living in a house with  5 people compared to the past month.

Sontag Essay

Susan Sontag’s essay, “In Plato’s Cave” addresses many interesting points about photography.  Her point of view is not clear on many of these points, but she does make clear the importance of photography. Photographs are fact that something existed or happened. Writers or painters cannot prevent their opinions or bias from entering into their writing or art. Sontag contrasts photography with other forms of art by saying that it is less of a statement from the artist and more of a miniature of the world. Photography is different from other art because it is not one of opinion. It is capturing the world as it is and viewing it as art.

Photography gives validity to one’s life. To not photograph a child is viewed as neglect in modern society. Taking photographs of one’s life gives proof that not only one existed, but that it was worth living and worthy of reproducing. Photographs are often all that remains of extended family members. They allow someone to own a piece of a time in which they did not exist and a memory that they have no recollection of. Family photo albums began the idea of capturing those we love and the experiences we would not trade for gold.

This idea has turned into an obsession in tourists. Without pictures to remember a trip by the trip seems insignificant. The obsessive need to put a camera between the photographer and the beautiful can prevent the photographer from truly experiencing and appreciating the subject. Instead, the photographer is worried about lighting, angles and the perfect shot.  Sontag’s explanation for this compulsive behavior is of societies driven by work ethic. On vacation a tourist might feel the need to work on a task like they would in their day-to-day lives. Photographing the experience replaces the work they would be doing if they were not on vacation, “the photographer has the choice between a photograph and life, to choose the photograph” (Sontag 12).

Sontag first gives the idea that to photograph something is to give it validity, immortality. The object of a photograph is transformed into something beautiful, but she later contradicts herself. Her other opinion on the matter is that to take a photograph of something is to violate it. She describes the act of taking a picture to be predatory, “to photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves”  (Sontag 14). To capture someone in an emotional state is to capture them while they are vulnerable. You capture for eternity a part of someone that they may not normally allow to be seen. You then turn this subject into an object. Their emotion may capture and infect a viewer, but they are reduced to an image.

Photographs have completely hanged how we view history because now we can actually view history.  Before we relied on stories, written accounts, things that can change from person to person. A photographic history allows the individual to see fact, and even that happened as it happened and allows the viewer to make his or her own opinions. Media broadcasts could have told the American Public about the atrocities of the Vietnam War, but it was not until they saw them with their own eyes that they were outraged. It has opened a whole new world and possibility in the educational world. Students are no longer simply told of what is happening, but they can see it.

Susan Sontag may be contradictory and redundant in her essay, “In Plato’s Cave”,  but she successfully informs the reader of the importance of photography in every field it has effected. She presents both positives and negatives to how we use photography in society. There can be no argument that photography is unimportant and insignificant in every part of modern society. 

9/9 Shadows

Picture Taken Sept 10th 2010

Class in the city was amazing. Even the time between galleries we were learning something about light or shadows. "Light and Enlightenment" should have been the name for this course. It has become the key theme thus far. Here we hadn't even reached the museum yet, but we stopped to look at the lines our shadows created on the sidewalk. This one was my favorite because of the shade of gray the sheer part of her dress creates. Shadows are normally just black and white, high contrast, but it was interesting to see a shade between the two. this photo was also my favorite because although the pieces of art in the museum are beautiful, they are someone else's. This is a simple everyday shadow.

9/7 Gravity

Picture Taken Sept 7th 2010

My shaky hand created a pretty cool effect in this picture. I took it because I liked the contrast of the bright gold tower to the dark silver sky. The curved lines are my new favorite part of this picture. Accidents become some of the best things we ever do. Not because of what we learn from them, but because they help us find what we didn't know we needed. Newton didn't throw an apple on his own head. I didn't directly search for this school. It was just a place I could send my application without writing a new essay. It wasn't until after I sent everything to them that I fell in love with it. I believe you shape your own life, but that doesn't mean good things won't fall into your path. It doesn't have to be fate, it could just be gravity.

9/4 flying

Picture Taken Sept 4th 2010

Flying away from home or towards home? I'm confused and tired from the trip. it's been a long day. Between last minute errands and packing, my football team losing an important game and this little thing I have to do called moving I lost my head. Somewhere in the sky I took the time to look out the window at the sun setting. I know your phone is supposed to be off during flights, but obviously the plane didn't crash and I'm pretty sure no one noticed. I'm in a sort of purgatory. I'm living in a hotel between homes. A little room with 2 beds and nothing on TV. What's done is done. i just want to move on to what's next.

9/3 My Old Kentucky Home

Picture Taken Sept 3rd 2010        

The head must bow and the back will have to bend,

Wherever the poor folks may go

A few more days and the trouble will end,

In the field where sugar-canes may grow.

A few more days for to tote the weary load,

No matter, 'twill never be light

A few more days till we totter on the road,

Then my old Kentucky home, good night.

-"My Old Kentucky Home"

The sun is setting on my backyard, my last night in a long time spent in this weird place called "home". This isthe last night I'll feel the heavy, humid air when I open my window. It is weird to think of the place I will be tomorrow night. I don't know what it will become to me. Will it become my primary home? a secondary home? a prison?

9/2 Edit

Picture Taken Sept. 2nd 2010

After days of laundry, packing, repacking and finally sitting on suitcases to get them to close, I'm ready. Everything that I want and need from my life in Louisville fits into 3 large suitcases, 2 mediums, and 1 small carry-on. Going through every article of clothing, book, movie and the countless other seemingly useless items in my room was a new experience. It was like I got to edit my life. At that moment I got to take things out, add others, but pick was most important to my life and my story. I got to pick who I will be next week. It can be completely different. It can be the exact same. Similar to the items in these suitcases, I get to pick what and whom I would like to keep with me in this new life. Who I will stay in contact with, who I will let fade into the past. Moving away isn't an end or a beginning, It is a time for me to edit what I've written so far.

8/30 The Pretty Houses

Picture Taken August 30th 2010

The park was a fun, but I was ready to get back into the city. I decided to go back to one of my favorite areas, The Highlands. The Highlands is an older area of Louisville. It is where conservative and liberal Louisville meet in a beautiful mosaic of beliefs, cultures and ages. Many would say the best part of this area is the famous Bardstown Road, but I decided to walk through the neighborhoods. This is the neighborhood where I went to school for most of my life. I remembered passing "the pretty houses" on my way to and from pre school, and to my surprise they were still there and still colorful. It is always refreshing to see something that has stood the test of time. This was only a small and blurry memory of mine, but these houses being beautiful and unchanged my day.

8/29 Fear

Picture Taken August 29th 2010

Taking a break from trees and green, I took a picture of this cave. I would have loved to explore it if I wasn't so afraid of it. I'm not afraid of the dark or tight spaces, but for some reason I didn't want to get too close. I rationalized my fear by telling myself that the many bats in the area probably live there. I made excuses for passing the cave. I told myself there would be nothing to photograph in there, that it was probably a dead end and a small uninteresting cave. I will never know if these things are true. I could say that I left this cave as a little unknown mystery but I passed it by because I feared and had little interest in this unknown cave.

8/28 Roots

Picture Taken August  28th 2010

I  decided to continue in my new favorite park at a later part of the day. I wanted to see this now familiar place in new light, literally. I loved these trees because they created almost an archway leading to the creek. I loved the way the sun shone through the leaves to give just enough light and just enough shade. The exposed roots and the way the branches curve and twist create lines that are unusual and more amusing to the eye. The low water gave me the rare opportunity to see these roots, walk beside them and of course trip over them.

8/26 Random

Picture Taken August 26th 2010

When I was wondering through the same area I've been photographing the past few days, I have learned that you can go far enough away from the road to forget it exists. I went past this point to find that if you keep walking you will find civilization once again. This cement block is completely random. There are no trees for about 20ft then they begin again as if they never ended. I found this grafitied block in this grassy area. From what I can tell it serves no purpose and it never has. Maybe it was supposed to be a foundation or hold something, but now it is old and cracked. The colorful spray paint, which some would consider vandalism, I believe is beautiful. This lump of cement would have been boring and dull in the sea of color, but someone who wanted to make their mark on the world gave it the little color it needed.

8/25 Green

Picture Taken August 25th 2010

Same creek as Monday, but I had the opportunity to walk further down this time. Because of the recent heat, the water level is low and I was able to hop from rock to rock down to this bend. I am really happy I decided on color film because the whole city is the best shade of green right now. It is the perfect time of year where everything is as green as it can be before leaves start to change. I cannot wait for autumn to hit with its new color pallet, but I am enjoying the green while I can. It has been here for months, but soon it will all fade. I change my mind often enough about how I wish things would be or look, but I know for sure that I will miss this soon.

8/23 Whoops

Picture Taken August 23rd 2010

I took the time to find someplace new. While driving around thinking of places to go, I parked on the side of a road I travel daily. I knew there was a creek by this road, and I appreciate what I can from my car window, but today I decided to explore it beyond the road. I couldn't have been happier and more embarrassed with my find. I cannot believe I pass this daily and never thought to explore or photograph it. I have always believed that I had a curious nature, but I guess running on schedules and shopping lists can stunt a quality like that. I thought I had been everywhere in this city worth going and photographed all I could, but once again I am wrong. There will be many more photographs of the same area to come!

8/22 Growing "Old"

Picture Taken August 22nd 2010

Same beautiful park, and still more trees. Trees have seemed to capture my attention this weekend. I think that I am puzzled as to how these trees can't survive in an area where everything around it thrives and where it used to thrive. This, like every other situation surrounding me reminds me of leaving home. Maybe this example of the trees is relevant or maybe the thought of leaving home is taking over my head, but I will try to explain. Louisville has been an amazing place for me. I love this city very much, but I feel as though i have outgrown it in some ways. Many people around me are staying close by for school. They are excited, happy, and satisfied by doing so. Staying here didn't feel right. I could be successful at a college close to home, but I believe I have much more to learn by going away.

8/21 Back to Basics

Picture Taken August 21st 2010

With my 35mm manual back in hand, I'm back in the swing of things. This is the first place that came to mind when I loaded film in my Minolta. The first picture I ever took with that old camera is of this very same tree. Although the pictures have the same subject, the two are very different. I took the first in the winter of 2009, it was a cloudy day, I used black and white film, but most important of all the tree had branches. I'm not sure why the branches of this old tree had to be cut off. I remember hiding in their shade many summers ago after running, and laying under the tree listening to friends play guitar. This picture is almost ironic. Everything around the tree is alive and green, but the subject, focus, and beauty of the picture is dying and will probably soon be gone.

HEY!

Hey people that read this,
I've switched back to my manual camera . The pictures from the last few days are coming soon I promise!!

Thanks!
Hannah

8/19 Retreat

Picture taken August 19th 2010

More cleaning led to this little find. It is a little pin of the sacred heart symbol, but to a Sacred Heart Academy (SHA) graduate it means the world. I am not at liberty to post many of the special memories I relive whenever I see this pin so that I do not expose the many secrets SHA senior retreat is made of, but I can explain how a Christian symbol can mean so much to a girl who was never too fond of Christianity. Senior retreat is a unique experience. You learn more about yourself and others you can ever imagine. This symbol wouldn't have meant anything to me before then, and it still has nothing to do with the sacred hear in my mind. This post probably makes no sense at all to any reader that didn't attend SHA, but the best way I can simply put it is that this pin reminds me of myself, the real me.

8/18 Roses

Picture taken August 18th 2010

As all of my friends begin to leave for school and start their college classes, I have plenty of time to think about the last of my high school days. While cleaning out my room for my little brother, I came across my graduation roses. At my high school, Sacred Heart Academy, a student receives a single rose her freshmen year and a dozen roses at her graduation. Over the past few months I still couldn't bring myself to throw away the old, dead roses from that day. As  someone that didn't have any attachment to Sacred Heart before those last few days, I cant believe I would hold onto them for so long. I learned so much from Sacred Heart, but these roses and an old sweater are the only material things I have to show from it.

8/17 Packer

Picture taken August 17th 2010

This picture is of my dog, Packer. Yes, he is named after the NFL team. This is one of his rare quiet moments and I couldn't let it pass by without capturing it. I know it is typical of pet owners to believe their own pet has unique human-like characteristics that no other pet does, but Packer holds a conversation better than most people I know. I do not mean I guess what he is thinking in the illusion of unconditional love. I'm sure that if Packer could actually speak he would prove unconditional love to be a fable. Packer responds vocally to almost every command or word spoken to him. I may very well be a crazy, obsessed pet owner, but luckily my pet is equally crazy.

8/16 In Peg's Garden

Picture taken August 16th 2010

It isn't often that I venture out in my mom's garden anymore, but the dog took my shoe outside. After chasing him around for a half hour I gave up and looked around. Because of the deadly heat last week, most of the flowers are dead. The green leaves and various plans survived,  but the only break from the endless green were these flowers. I have to confess, I do not know what kind of flowers these are. The only think I do know about these flowers is that they are white. It is amazing to me that something so small, pretty and dainty can outlast everything else around it. They survived 110 degree heat, heavy thunderstorms and being "marked" daily by my dog. It is an underdog story in my own backyard.

8/15 Thunderstorms

Picture taken August 15th 2010

I was lucky enough to take this picture before the sky completely opened up with rain and before all daylight was lost. This picture is an example of pure luck. It was luck that there was lightning in the distance so I could close work early. Because I closed the pool early, I was able to walk to my car while it was still light out. It is lucky enough that I work outside at a place so beautiful. Simple things mean much more when they are unexpected. No one expected a flash of lightning on a calm night like this one, but when we took our eyes off the pool and looked at the sky no one could miss the beautiful purple clouds. I love summer thunderstorms more than anything else in the world. I get excited when the air gets heavy and humid because I know there is a storm on its way.

8/14 Driving to Nashville

Picture taken August 14th 2010

Even while driving I took the time to appreciate the beautiful landscape on an otherwise boring 3 hour drive. Although the road stretched in front of me is an interesting part of the photograph and could represent some big journey in my lifetime, I really wish I could remove it from the picture. The rolling hills and blue sky in southern Kentucky is what I really wanted to capture. The hill in this picture is nothing in height compared to others in the country or even region, but when all you have seen in the past few hours is pavement you appreciate the simple things surrounding you much more. I have lived in Kentucky my whole life and see landscapes like this almost every time I travel, yet every time I pass them I take the time to marvel at their height and how they are covered in lush trees to the point that I took this picture from my front windshield.

8/13 Home

Picture Taken August 13th 2010

This is a picture of my street, Primrose Way. This has been my starting point in every journey I've taken in the past 15 years. Every time I leave my driveway for whatever reason, this is the last thing I see before I begin towards my destination. Just looking at this picture makes me smile. The way the light from the sun is reflected off the leaves illuminates the trees and creates shadows on the pavement. The street and the trunks of the trees create perpendicular lines in the photograph that create depth. This depth reminds me as the many times I have traveled this road for pure enjoyment. I did this as a child and I continue to do so now in my "adult life".

8/12 Friends

Picture taken August 12th 2010

If someone were to ask me what my life is like with my friends or who we are, I cannot think of a better response than this picture. On the night this picture was taken, we were playing "Pretty Pretty Princess". Ironically, the male participants were the most competitive.The blurred motion in this photograph shows the struggle for the tiara while also making Silas' face the focal point. This picture reminds me of not only this night but the many nights we have spent together. It is a perfect representation of my life before moving to Denver.