Blog Post 8: Inferences

After searching and searching for a photograph, I've finally found one that stands out. After looking at this picture for a while, I began to feel free and limitless. This picture, labeled "Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana," gives the audience a peek into the life of a man who herds sheep for a living. Though there's only one person in this picture, the relationships displayed are truly remarkable. As a shepherd, this man probably lives a rather solitary life. The empty, barren background supports this assertion. The only day-to-day relationships that he maintains are with his horse, his dog, and the sheep that he shepherds.

The alignment of the man, the horse, and the dog are reflective of their relationships. The shepherd is the highest character in the photo, supporting the true meaning of what it is to be a shepherd. He is shown as a leader and supervisor over all. Even the camera is lowered slightly so that the shepherd is raised above the center of the photograph. The horse, being slightly lower, is closely related to the shepherd as his main means of transportation. The horse holds him up, allowing him to see over the sheep and watch for predators. The dog sits at the shepherds feet, loyally looking up to the shepherd and waiting for a command. In this sense, the dog's posture creates a symbol that represents the common perception of dogs and their loyalty towards their masters. The dog and the horse are both probably the shepherd's closest companions.

As I mentioned already, the dog's attention is aimed at the shepherd. But where is the focus of the shepherd and his horse? Rather than smiling at the camera, the shepherd's attention is directed somewhere off the edge of the photograph. Here I notice that the shepherd and his horse are aligned on the right side of the photograph, allowing some of the background to be viewed in full. The background is composed of grassy hills and partly cloudy skies; the main feature here is the horizon line. This leads me to believe that the shepherd is probably viewing the same sort of scenery. He probably experiences the same expansive setting, heading towards the same distant horizon every single day.

Though the day appears to be bright and sunny, the shepherd is wearing a long-sleeved jacket, pants, boots, and gloves. This gives him a sort of weathered look, as if he is prepared to tackle the job at hand in any given conditions that are thrown his way. From both his clothing and his aged appearance, it can be concluded that he has much experience and wisdom in shepherding. As he looks out into the rising sun, it's easy to see that he's ready to face whatever the day presents to him.