Anne Berry Menagerie: A Blog About Animal photography

Metaphor in Photography: Chien avec le Bandage

2010-01-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

In June of 2008 Will and I, along with six friends, were traveling in a rented boat down the Canal du Rhône à Sète. Getting into Sète was the hardest thing we did all week, but for me it was worth the trouble to visit Le Cimetière Marin (Sailor's Cemetery): "A place all gold, stone, and dark wood, where shudders/So much marble above so many shadows:/And on my tombs, asleep, the faithful sea." (-Paul Valéry, trans. C. Day. Lewis). Also, I found the French Poodle with the bandage and sad eyes.

Chien Avec le Bandage documents a moment in time and place: a poodle with a bandage sits inside a shop in Sète France. The dog’s eyes beg the viewer to stop and notice, to wonder, as Franz Marc asks, “is there any more mysterious idea for an artist than the conception of how nature is mirrored in the eyes of an animal? How does a horse see the world, or an eagle, or a doe, or a dog?” This photograph is important to me not as a portrait of a specific dog but as an illustration of an archetype. I see this dog as the embodiment of loyalty and protection: like a Chinese Fu Dog he guards the entrance, or perhaps like the Steadfast Tin Soldier he waits patiently with unconditional love for his owner. The power of this photograph lies in its ability to speak the language of emotions, to touch to the world of metaphor, dreams, and mystery.

This photograph was selected by Rixon Reed for The Center for Fine Art Photography’s exhibit and publication, 2009Portfolio Showcase, Volume 2 and also by Fay Gold for the Women in Focus XV exhibit in Atlanta. Currently the photograph is part of an exhibit in Zebulon, Georgia. I like the drive from Newnan to Zebulon, and I like that this exhibit supports local animal rescue programs. The exhibit, Puppy Love, hangs the month of February at The Novel Experience Bookstore and Gallery. There is a reception on February 6th at 6:30 p.m.

Yin and Yang: Stallion in Marsh, Cumberland Island

2010-01-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

photo ©anneberry
Cumberland Island is a magically beautiful place, and my photograph Stallion in Marsh makes me want to return: to inhale the organic smell of the marsh, to taste the salt air, to listen to the sound of the waves, to feel my feet and legs sinking in the mud, and to see a feral stallion calmly wading towards land as if he came walking out of the ocean. The mystical atmosphere of this place contributes to the beauty of the image, which documents a place and a moment in time. But the horse and the water are archetypal images; their significance transcends the specific record. Also in the image several dualities create tension and meaning, yin and yang. First and most obvious is the horse himself and his reflection. Also evident is the eternal ebb and flow of the tide, flowing in to fill up the marsh. In this image land alternates with water, earth with sea. The opposing forces of the static square format and the dynamic spiral formed by the water create tension. The square symbolizes earth, while the circle represents eternity. All these elements contribute mystery and meaning to the photograph. It tells a story, but I hope also speaks to emotions and says something that cannot be expressed adequately with words.
This photograph is in The Center for Fine Art Photography's Elements of Water exhibit, juried by John Paul Caponigro. The exhibit will open Feb. 17 - March 11, 2010 at the Center in Fort Collins and also appear on
The Center for Fine Art Photography's online gallery.

Olot to Sant Feliu de Guixols on the Vies Verdes: Awesome Landscapes, Quaint Villages, and Farm Animals

2009-12-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

photo ©anneberry
Sheep in Pasture,
outside of Olot, Spain

Last spring we made a short detour from a conference in Barcelona to Girona (about one hour by train) in order to cycle from Olot in the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean sea side town of Sant Feliu de Guixols. The former railway is now a track for cyclists and pedestrians, and Girona makes a great base for this two day ride. Day 1: We arrived in Girona, hiked to the ruins of Castell de Sant Miguel (great views), and ate tapas. Day 2: We picked up our bicycles and got on the bus to Olot. From Olot we set out on the Vies Verdes ("green way"), a 54 km ride back to Girona, through beautiful farm land in the Bas Valley (which is known as the Catalan Switzerland). Day 3:We rode out of Girona on the Ruta del Carrilet, the former narrow gauge railway route from Girona to the Mediterranean, 42 km. After enjoying a beer at the seaside we loaded our bicycles on the bus and returned to Girona. This trip was an amazing opportunity to photograph farm animals, landscapes, and seascapes (also to eat delicious tapas and drink excellent red wine). It also made me wish for a green way in my town!

Photography and Magic: Os Bru at the Barcelona zoo

2009-12-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

photo ©anneberry
Os Bru (Brown Bear): Photography and Magic
"Art is something which, although produced by human hands, is not created by these hands alone, but something which wells up from a deeper source in our souls." - Vincent Van Gogh

Anyone who has watched a blank sheet of paper become a photograph must have a feeling that photography is magic (especially if you are an artist and not a chemist). My children shared a similar experience at a young age when their grandmother let them make Polaroid images. When I am shooting digitally I do not look at the image screen (but the histogram). Also, when I am photographing an animal I’m concentrating on the animal’s movement and expression, and I forget about everything else. Thus, when I see my images for the first time, I feel awe and often surprise. This image of a Brown Bear at the Barcelona Zoo exemplifies for me the mystery of photography. I like the composition of this photograph, the bear’s expression, and the diagonal movement caused by the blur. However, what I think makes the image special is the impression of a bear’s head on the wall behind the bear. It seems as if the bear was standing in profile, and when he turned his head to face the camera the shape of the profile remained. I did not notice this wall while I was taking pictures, and I do not know what caused this effect (I did not manipulate the image). This mysterious, unexplained element gives the photograph its magic.

This photograph is one of the works I have at the Silvershotz Atlanta Showcase at Mason Murer Fine Art; it will also be included in the next issue of Silvershotz. Mason Murer Fine Art posted this video of the opening on November 6th; the exhibit will be there through December.

Christmas Cows and Milkmaids: Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!)

2009-12-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Dairy Cows
photo ©anneberry

This is a photograph I took at Rucks Dairy in Spalding Co. (GA). These curious young cows make me think of a French Christmas carol, Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!) The simple melody and words of this hymn affirm the pure and uncorrupted meaning of Christmas, which is often forgotten in what has become in America a consumer driven holiday. The legend behind this hymn begins with two milkmaids in Bethlehem. When the girls go to milk the cows, they find baby Jesus in the stable and run to tell the village folk of His birth. On Christmas eve French children dress as shepherds and milkmaids and process to mass carrying torches and candles.

Here are the lyrics in English, and also a link to You Tube, Tennessee Ernie Ford singing the carol in French and English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50uZBeiSSTw

Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!

Bring a torch, come swiftly and run!

Christ is born. Tell the folk of the village

Jesus is born and Mary's calling.

Ah! Ah! beautiful is the Mother!

Ah! Ah! beautiful is her son!

It is wrong when the Baby is sleeping,

It is wrong to speak so loud.

Silence, now as you gather around,

Lest your noise should waken Jesus.

Hush! Hush! see how the Baby slumbers;

Hush! Hush! see how the Baby sleeps!

Softly now unto the stable,

Softly for a moment come!

Look and see how charming is Jesus,

Look at him there, His cheeks are rosy!

Hush! Hush! see how the Child is sleeping;

Hush! Hush! see how he smiles in dreams!

Van Gogh: 10 statements that are true for photographers

2009-11-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

In October I went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are currently exhibiting a collection of Van Gogh's letters; the paintings he discusses in the letters are exhibited beside them. These are 10 of my favorite quotes:

Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too little beautiful.

I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.

It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.

…one can speak poetry just by arranging colours well, just as one can say comforting things in music.

I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream.

Art is something which, although produced by human hands, is not created by these hands alone, but something which wells up from a deeper source in our souls.

Reading books is like looking at paintings: without doubting, without hesitating, with self assurance, one must find beautiful that which is beautiful.

….in a picture, I want to say something comforting, as music is comforting.

If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere

I have a certain obligation and duty… to leave a certain souvenir in the form of drawings or paintings in gratitude. Not done to please some movement or other, but in which an honest human feeling is expressed.

photo ©anneberry Horse in Shadow
This image reminds me of Van Gogh's description of an engraving of an "old white horse, emaciated and spent and worn out... the poor animal stands in an indescribably lonely and forsaken place:" Van Gogh adds, "it always strikes me and it is remarkable, when we see the image of unutterable and indescribable forsakenness - of loneliness - of poverty and misery, the end of things or their extremity - the thought of God comes to mind.

Can you photograph a memory?

2009-11-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

The Monkey and the Crocodile
photo ©anneberry
It is hard to convey with words the emotional reaction to a photograph. I often struggle to express in writing a statement of the vision behind my photographs. The inspiration for many of my photographs relates to a childhood experience or memory even though I might not realize it at the time. My photographs form a connection to my subconscious world, but I hope they also contain a universal significance so that the viewer, too, feels an emotional reaction. This photograph of a Mandrill (taken at Artis in Amsterdam) illustrates how memory influences my passion to photograph animals. This subject attracted me, and after I printed this image it gave me an elusive feeling that it was familiar. Gradually, I remembered the following story. I guess the story contained an illustration or description that reminded me of this monkey, perhaps his expression or the way he holds his hand. I am sure the memory of the story or the experience of having it read to me contributes to the emotional attraction I have for this image.

This fable teaches lessons about friendship, honesty, loyalty, and trust. Here is how I remember the story:

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once there was a monkey who lived in a tree on the bank of a river. A crocodile lived in the river. The monkey would throw down fruit from the tree for him to eat, and the crocodile and the monkey became friends. The crocodile's wife became jealous of this friendship and pretended to be sick, telling her husband that only eating the heart of a monkey could cure her. The crocodile was very sad, but he tricked his friend, telling the monkey that he would carry him to the other side of the river where the fruit was sweeter. Half-way across the river the crocodile revealed his plan to the monkey.
"Oh," said the monkey, "you should have told me! I will be glad to give your wife my heart, but I always leave it in my tree!"
The crocodile returned the monkey safely to his tree.

Baboons on Sphinxes

2009-11-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

Baboon on Sphinx
photo ©anneberry

I took this photograph at Dierenpark Amersfoort. We rode the train from Amsterdam to Amersfoort and walked to the zoo (there is also a bus). It is a very nice zoo with interesting architecture. The baboon's live with the Barbary Sheep in the ruins of an ancient Egyptian city; the exhibit shows the relationship between humans and animals. In ancient Egypt baboons were often kept as pets and trained to pick figs and mangos out of the tops of trees. They also played an important role in mythology; they are the sacred pet of Thoth, the god of wisdom and the moon. In art baboons are often pictured with the moon and also with the sun because they wake up at first light and reach for the sun. This photograph of baboons resting on the avenue of the sphinxes gives the impression that nature is taking over what humans constructed. It reminds one of the transitory nature of material things. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems:

Ozymandias (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".

Sicilian Donkeys in Tabby Slave Cabin, Ossabaw Island

2009-11-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

photo ©anneberry
All the rain last week thanks to Hurricane Ida reminded me of my visit to Ossabaw Island last August. I was photographing two of the Sicilian donkeys when a serious storm broke. The donkeys went into one of the tabby slave cabins to take refuge from the storm, and I took this photograph of them in the cabin. I think the photograph conveys some of the atmosphere of this building from the early nineteenth century. These cabins are saddlebag houses: two rooms with a chimney in the center of the house.
The donkeys are part of a heard of feral donkeys brought to the Island by eleanor Torrey-West.

Kangaroos

2009-11-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

photo ©anneberry
I picked up my photographs from the Australian Bakery Cafe (http://www.australianbakerycafe.com/) in Marietta yesterday. It is a great place to get an Aussie meat pie (largest selection in America), and their ANZAC cookies (cookies sent to soldiers during WWI) are wonderful. I plan to get up there on a Tuesday night for bluegrass; every Tuesday night they have an open bluegrass jam: here is the link to a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X5sNY5wqyM
I took this image of a Kangaroo enjoying the sun at the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville (http://www.kangaroocenter.com/). It is one of the most relaxing places I have ever been; kangaroos are very laid back. It's a scenic drive to beautiful land, not crowded; you can walk around or sit on a bench.
I took this photograph to Mason Murer Fine Art (http://www.masonmurer.com/) It's in the Silvershotz International Magazine Juried Show. This gallery is right by the Sweetwater Brewery, which we are going to visit on the way to the opening!

El Perro Negro

2009-11-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

El Perro Negro, Mineral de Pozos, Mexico 2008

“We shall not cease from exploration. And at the end of all exploring will be to arrive at the place and know it for the first time” - T. S. Eliot

photo ©anneberry
Mineral de Pozos, Mexico is a setting haunted by the past. Once a prosperous mining community, it is now almost completely abandoned. Deserted haciendas are vacant or inhabited by goats and goatherds, but one senses in their presence the atmosphere of the past. The Chihuahua, too, evokes this mystical quality of another world. This ancient breed of dog was a pet for the upper class inhabitant of the hacienda, and it was used in religious ceremonies. The Chihuahua runs from darkness to light, framed by the crumbling ruin of a 16^th century Moorish arch. Both elements, the ancient arch and the moving dog, convey a mystical, dream-like quality.