The Faculty Throwback series features images from the archives of School of Photography Faculty.
By David Bowman
1997, Ireland.
My mom made plans to visit Ireland with a friend, but they didn’t want to drive on the wrong side of the road. And they didn’t want to get stuck on a tour bus. So they pitched in and bought me a ticket so I could be their driver, since I knew my way around. I flew out early and stayed on the Aran islands for a few weeks ahead of their arrival.
The streets were a little busy during the day, when ferries arrived from the mainland with tourists. But after the last boat left in the late afternoon, I had the place to myself. As I walked across Inishmore one day, I came upon a white horse. An islander approached, and asked if I knew who’s horse I was photographing. When I said no, he told me: The horse belongs to the family of Robert Flaherty, director of Nanook of the North…and the reputed Father of documentary film.
Back home in St. Paul, I had a show of my work. The woman who bought this print was so excited that she hopped on a plane to Ireland to meet the horse herself.