Deceased deer photo garners praise for (live) Stout prof.

Matt Ledger |

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“Deer, Highway 25” by Amy Fichter

It’s rare to turn your hobby into something that wins you international acclaim, but it’s probably even rarer when your hobby is taking photographs of dead deer. Try telling that to UW-Stout art professor Amy Fichter, though. Fichter, who started shooting with an old film camera two years ago, has now graced over twenty exhibits with her photos, the most recent of which was Project Basho’s ONWARD ’11 exhibit in Philadelphia.

 614 photographers from 22 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Japan, and Russia, submitted over 2,240 photographs to ONWARD, which features the work of emerging photographers. Fichter’s photo was one of the 70(!) which made the cut for the actual gallery and the only photo from a Wisconsin photographer. The photo, entitled “Deer, Highway 25,” was taken somewhere south of Durand on the titular highway. According to an article on the photo on UW-Stout’s Recent News page:

"[The photo] shows the head of a young buck, with a blood stain on the side of the road. [Fichter] likes the contrast of the smooth, soft deer, with its antlers in the velvet stage, in contrast with the rough pavement.

'I just felt like the life or spirit of the deer was coming out with the blood,' Fichter said. 'They’re such beautiful animals. You feel their grace and speed.'"

 The ONWARD ’11 exhibit wrapped last weekend, so scrap any plans you might’ve had to fly out to Philly to see Fichter’s dead deer on display. Of course, if you feel like you’re missing out, you can probably just wander around until you find the real thing.