I am not seeing any artistic position or statement. Not trying to be difficult, a horse nose, horse nose hair, horse breath, a horse eyeball, a horse part of a mane, gees.
If I had to pick a picture it would be the horse eye, not sure why that is more significant since it is devoid of meaning, even the reflection. Also, that the pics are in black and white does not add any drama or meaning, imho
I think that a more open perspective with these horses would detail your connection with them better, imho
When I first looked at the images in this series, I half consciously "preferred" two and five because they are complete depictions, "neat", or concise, if you will, of easily recognizable parts of horse anatomy. My emotional response to the series of images from my first viewing was slight. Later I returned for another look, this time lingering for a few seconds to think about the introduction... a different time of day, a different frame of mind... Now I sense the feeling of the photographer toward these beings that she is attempting to convey.
It is much the same as when one glances at, say, the hand of a person with whom he has strong emotional or spiritual, if I may be allowed the use of the word here, bond. Just a hand, one that he has touched many times; one that has touched his own many times... the delicately tapered curve of a forefinger and thumb, the texture and soft translucence of the skin is suddenly something quite beautiful and special. Suddenly that lingering glance at something so very often seen causes a stirring within.
The image 1, my least favorite at first viewing, is now my favorite.
I love them all. I get it. Thank you. My wife has horses and in the last three years has taught me a great deal about how they think, react etc.. and I've now spent some time with them and can see what you're saying. Perhaps I'm reading a lot into it, but who cares? We all see from our point of view, whether we admit it or not....
Thank you all so much for your thoughts on these images.
My personal favourite of my series is definitely the 4th. You have to know horses to see it. That part just above their nostrils is like silk – so soft and beautiful. Their nostril is also the point of contact with someone they trust and want to get to know, not the eye. They smell you first, they reach out with their muzzle to touch you. Then they turn their head away for a moment before reaching out again. The eyes are not so important, they judge any immediate danger from an object/being further away and then make a decision to flee if needed but once you get close to a horse is all about smell and touch.
The horse in 3 didn't like the clicking of the camera but the other one wasn't bothered by it, just intrigued and very trusting.
Ute
Mado