Archive for November, 2007

An Altered Perception


After reading through the introduction to the book “The Altered Landscape,” I was hit by the last paragraph. It made me reflect on my own work and the importance of it in not just being critical about how life is now, but also as a positive way of looking at how life can one day be.
“These photographs challenge our traditional ideas of beauty and pleasure, but they also transcend simplistic lamentations about loss and ultimately suggest greater optimism about the future and the role we can play. J.B. Jackson wrote that “mobility and change are the key to the vernacular landscape, but of an involuntary, reluctant sort; not the expression of restlessness and search for improvement but and unending patient adjustment of circumstances.”
This last sentence really struck me as important to understand. There is so much, especially environmentally, that we have done wrong throughout the history of mankind, but we seem to be moving forward in this slow altering of our actions according to our surroundings. We’re evolving. Let’s just hope we evolve towards something better.

A Fallen Season


The passing season has always been my favorite. Fall seems to come and go too quickly, but while it’s here there’s so much about it to take in. Maybe it’s because the loss of leaves or the breeze with a touch of winter reminds me of home. There’s so much nostalgia in just the scent of autumn. Even the rotting of leaves brings back something within that yearns for home. The smell of wood burning fireplaces on my walk reminds me of Halloween as a child and the brisk New England wind. A life without seasons would be void of so many subtle feelings.
In the little time I had this quarter, I randomly photographed “Fall” in an attempt to capture the season in all its glory. I’ll continue with other seasons and will begin posting it on my website soon. I’ll keep you posted.
This is an image of geese in Ohio flying to warmer climates for the winter. They stop in the rivers near school to feed on grass…