Michelle, it was an honor to be involved in your project(s). Your passion, enthusiasm and critical eye are an inspiration. Please keep up your amazing work!
When I think of "entanglements," I turn to my own philosophy of the object: that in any given circumstance, a thing is but a relation to another thing: it is not discrete. It can't be. Even in portraiture, for example, the sole subject in front of the camera is, so to speak, an entanglement of experiences, hopes, traumas, and unknowns, both conscious and unconscious, and good portraiture unveils, reveals, these intricate warps and woofs, a tapestry of character.
As I'm imagining this project, I can't see how nature and humanity can be discrete, unentangled, since we're not only IN an environment but OF one too. This makes humanity a natural thing, born of nature, and nature, in essence, the laws and structures of what is physically and chemically possible: THE LAW. As with the work of Robert Adams, this project holds, in one sense, to that mission to provoke our conscious alienation of nature and its subjugation to human power and greed, while, in a respective sense, stirring unconscious imbalances in our physical and mental health (not to mention the imminent destruction of our habitat, air, water, etc.)
I hope, in this project, that you continue to unfold the alienating effects of capitalism, this idea that there is an unlimited supply of goods and resources, equally abundant and replenishable, and reveal just how pervasive and undying nature can be, even in the face of extinction and annihilation. You do so (so far) not with disturbing images, but with a quietude, a meditation, on the "creep" of devastation waiting at our fingertips, the simple crack of concrete with a flower busting through. This is the image of nature's pervasiveness.
Good luck. I think we all wish you well. Because it's each and every one of our collective fight.
To me, the most successful of the images you've shared are the subtle ones. In particular the image of the tree on the hill top and the bridge barely cresting the peak of the hill. I was drawn into the beauty of the image. The hill and the tree create a tension of their own. Aesthetically I find those two elements make a very strong landscape. As I looked more closely I was surprised to see the bridge. It seemed out of place at first. My mind considered it almost unwelcome, out of place.
I think the relationships in this image between the hill and the tree and the bridge strongly evoke the theme of the project. All three of the subjects seem to "tussle" both for attention and status in my mind. The line of the tree trunk leading to the bridge which juts out of the frame breaks the harmony of the image which again speaks to the tension between nature and humankind.
Michelle, it was an honor to be involved in your project(s). Your passion, enthusiasm and critical eye are an inspiration. Please keep up your amazing work!
When I think of "entanglements," I turn to my own philosophy of the object: that in any given circumstance, a thing is but a relation to another thing: it is not discrete. It can't be. Even in portraiture, for example, the sole subject in front of the camera is, so to speak, an entanglement of experiences, hopes, traumas, and unknowns, both conscious and unconscious, and good portraiture unveils, reveals, these intricate warps and woofs, a tapestry of character.
As I'm imagining this project, I can't see how nature and humanity can be discrete, unentangled, since we're not only IN an environment but OF one too. This makes humanity a natural thing, born of nature, and nature, in essence, the laws and structures of what is physically and chemically possible: THE LAW. As with the work of Robert Adams, this project holds, in one sense, to that mission to provoke our conscious alienation of nature and its subjugation to human power and greed, while, in a respective sense, stirring unconscious imbalances in our physical and mental health (not to mention the imminent destruction of our habitat, air, water, etc.)
I hope, in this project, that you continue to unfold the alienating effects of capitalism, this idea that there is an unlimited supply of goods and resources, equally abundant and replenishable, and reveal just how pervasive and undying nature can be, even in the face of extinction and annihilation. You do so (so far) not with disturbing images, but with a quietude, a meditation, on the "creep" of devastation waiting at our fingertips, the simple crack of concrete with a flower busting through. This is the image of nature's pervasiveness.
Good luck. I think we all wish you well. Because it's each and every one of our collective fight.
Beautiful work!
Thanks for sharing Michelle!
To me, the most successful of the images you've shared are the subtle ones. In particular the image of the tree on the hill top and the bridge barely cresting the peak of the hill. I was drawn into the beauty of the image. The hill and the tree create a tension of their own. Aesthetically I find those two elements make a very strong landscape. As I looked more closely I was surprised to see the bridge. It seemed out of place at first. My mind considered it almost unwelcome, out of place.
I think the relationships in this image between the hill and the tree and the bridge strongly evoke the theme of the project. All three of the subjects seem to "tussle" both for attention and status in my mind. The line of the tree trunk leading to the bridge which juts out of the frame breaks the harmony of the image which again speaks to the tension between nature and humankind.
You have a beautiful and thoughtful project. I look forward to seeing your future images. BTW, the Nikon Z7II is good choice. I have one and love it.