Brian Lesteberg
"Fallen Doe, Voltaire, ND, 2003"
C-Print
40 x 32 inches
I was introduced to photographer Brian Lesteberg's terrific "Raised To Hunt" series via Alec Soth's blog. Regular readers of HH will likely know about my connection to hunting and fishing; although I usually carry a camera instead of gun these days, hunting continues to inform my life and philosophy, even living in New York City. Most art viewers, no matter their background, will appreciate Lesteberg's handsome photographs for their marriage of compositional simplicity and compelling content, but those of us who recognize the visceral moments Lesteberg has captured are, I believe, moved in a more fundamental way.
Brian Lesteberg
"Bradley, Sheridan County, ND, 2003"
C-Print
40 x 32 inches
Although my favorite image in the series is "Fallen Doe, Voltaire, ND, 2003," "Bradley, Sheridan County, ND, 2003" is more closely tied to my own experience. In the fall of 2005, I wrote about a flight of Canada geese passing south over my apartment in Astoria, Queens. The birds' calls triggered memories of Thanksgiving morning goose hunts.
"[These] could well be descendants of Canadas I hunted years ago, lying on my back in a cold-hardened, fallen corn field with a 12-gauge Browning over-and-under heavy on my chest. Looking down from several thousand feet, a group of geese would spot our decoy spread and begin a long, beautiful pitch to us, a pitch that might last many minutes and, for some of the birds, would be their last. Hours later, a cooked goose would emerge from the oven, dressed and ready for Thanksgiving dinner. My family never ate turkey."
Brian Lesteberg
"Dad Field Dressing a Goose , McClusky, ND, 2001"
C-Print
40 x 32 inches
Brian Lesteberg
"Hoof Track with Blood, Voltaire, ND, 2003"
C-Print
40 x 32 inches
Photo credit: all images courtesy Brian Lesteberg
