Portraits
of the Pasture
I Am Creative
Two semesters ago I took the Photography 1 course. I really enjoyed the course and I learned so much about photography and editing photos that I did not know beforehand. For the final project I did a photo series on a topic of my choice. I chose to do Cattle Portraiture. I did this as a method to bring awareness to how cows can be kind of cool. We see a lot of them around Rexburg and the surrounding areas as BYU Idaho students, but do we ever take a moment to appreciate them? Well, that is exactly what this photo series is for; a moment to appreciate these cool cows.
Before creating this photo series I didn’t think much about cows. I just chose a topic to do for my project so I could pass the class, but I learned something important along the way. I learned to find the beauty in everyday things that might go unnoticed; in this case, cows.
I think that it is really important that when you take time to appreciate the things around you, you should allow yourself to think and feel more openly. Even if its only for a small moment, allowing yourself this treat can be really good for your soul.
This is Doug. I have a few photos of him in this series. He is super friendly and loved having his photo taken. Doug spends his days eating grass and spending time with his friend Earl the Goat.
Alrighty, who’s excited? Let’s take a look!
This is Patricia. She is the most extroverted cow I have ever met! When trying to get some good photos, the herd was on the other side of the pasture. The moment Patricia saw me she made her way over to me and was kind enough to let me take her photo.
This is Dawn. She is a sweetheart. She is very gentle and soft spoken. Her moo is quiet, but it’s there. She has a pretty noticeable case of FOMO because she loved going everywhere I went.
This wonderful and funny portrait is Doug, again. This is the very first photo I took of Doug. I was setting up my tripod and camera and when I up he was staring right at me. I took the photo right then and this was the hilarious result.
This is Stefanie. She is super sassy. She is Dawns friend and followed her everywhere that Dawn followed me. This photo is the only photo I have of her actually looking at me.
This is Rylee. She did not seem to be in a good mood during the photo shoot. Constantly walking away, rarely facing me, and often would aggressively moo at me.
This is Kelly. I am not sure if she wanted her photo taken or not. She is part of the same herd as Patricia. This was the second photo shoot I did of them. Patricia, like before, was friendly and wanted all the attention. Kelly seemed a bit skeptical that I was back.
If I didn’t crop the photo in you would see Patricia right here. She kept trying to squeeze her way into photos, but Kelly made sure to keep between Patricia and I.
Once again, this is Doug, or at least it’s Dougs snout. As I said before, he is super friendly. He kept trying to reach through the fence with his tongue and lick my camera, so I picked some grass and fed him so my camera wouldn’t get dirty and so I could get a cool shot.
Doug was a super great model for this photo series. My favorite photos in this series are of him. This photo is my second favorite. It is not as silly as the first one of him staring directly at the camera, but I feel like this one does him justice. It is a realistic portrait that shows what he really looks like.
This is my favorite photo of the series. It is also Doug. This is one of four photos that are a close up, but out of those, and out of all the others, I feel that this one conveys a level of emotion that all the others do not. Plus I am proud of the cinematic nature of the final edit.
