On a break between classes the other day, I met up with a few friends in Madison Square Park. While walking along observing all of the different people and hearing the mumbled chatter of hundreds of conversations, I saw a golden retriever laying on the ground. As I followed the dog's leash up to the hand of his owner, I noticed that in the man's lap was a large piece of canvas and scattered around him were various painting supplies. I noticed that the painting was a self-portrait which displayed both the painter and his dog just as they appeared at that moment.

I felt so grateful to have had the opportunity to hear Thomas Neff speak about his experiences as a photographer and to see all of the work he did to capture the images of the people affected by the devastating Hurricane Katrina. I could write and write about numerous aspects of the presentations and elaborate on the many different thoughts I had while listening to Neff speak, but I think that the most important detail to take out of this presentation is to understand his approach.

After reading "Photography's Discursive Spaces," I was incredibly frustrated. The author's use of  comparisons between photography and painting and scientific versus aesthetic made it difficult for me to see her point of view. I think that the act of comparison within the art world is a huge problem. Comparison seems to open the door for the potential to make the assumption that all art is on the same level for every person and therefore a comparison between photography and painting is no different than a comparison between architecture and music.

Visiting the International Center of Photography was incredibly exciting for me because of my love for photography. I had trouble, however, with the questions about each photograph's meaning. I recalled what I read in Camera Lucida about Barthes' "desperate resistance to any reductive system." I do intellectually understand "how" to interpret a photograph, but I don't always feel that analyzing and dissecting each image is a beneficial or necessary process.