Nature and the Human Presence, A Few Brief Reflections

Most of today has been spent getting things done that didn't happen yesterday because I was on jury duty. My original intention was to resume my regular posting schedule tomorrow, June 29. But apparently there are those who follow this blog that look forward to the posts more than I was aware and requested that I find something to write about and post at least one photo this evening.

On my walk on May 27, I had taken some photos with the intention of eventually setting up a post that specifically relates to the theme of "Nature and the Human Presence." I will probably do a more thorough post on the theme in the future, so this, as the title indicates, is just a few brief reflections on the theme.

Photography, by its very nature of selecting, excluding and framing, gives the photographer the power to show viewers a highly edited version of the reality the photographer was actually viewing when making the photographs. On the one hand, it brings visual order to what would otherwise appear to be chaotic. On the other, it is a way of manipulating the viewer's interpretation of the reality.

With a few exceptions, my posts thus far have been primarily in the "Nature for Nature's sake" sub-genre of landscape / wildlife photography. In the history of art, this sub-genre is a fairly recent development coinciding roughly with the beginning of the Romantic Movement in the early 19th Century.

In the early 1970's, Robert Adams (no relation to Ansel Adams) and several of his photographer friends became disillusioned with the distorted message "nature for nature's sake" photography was communicating as they saw it ignoring or glossing over the rapidly escalating degradation of the environment in and around the urban areas where they lived. In response, he founded a photographic genre which he referred to as "topographic photography." This genre has become more popularly known as environmental photography which concentrates on the human impact on the environment.

The following series of photos were taken with Adam's topographic genre in mind:

Let me point out the obvious that volumes have been written on the topic of human interaction and the natural environment. The Earth is our home and we must learn to share it with all the other creatures that make their home on this planet.

Basically, the photos in this set can be divided into two broad categories: electrical generation and the power grid, and transportation. Here are a couple of thoughts that immediately come to mind regarding each.

First, without our electrically driven technology and the power grid that supports it, there would be no internet, there would be no blogs. It makes this post that you are viewing possible. In order to maintain the culture we have come to expect, it is imperative we find ways to produce and deliver electrical power that is both sustainable and as eco-friendly as possible.

Second, the concrete I-beam bridges that have come into common use are actually an example of transportation technology that has an ecological benefit. They provide a nesting habitat for birds such as the cliff swallow and the cave swallow. I seriously doubt this fact played any part in the development of the bridge structure and was only realized as an unanticipated benefit after the fact.

These are just a few late evening (and, hopefully, somewhat coherent) musings on the topic, a little something to think about.

9:41 am, Wed., June 29:  One additional thought I would like to add this morning is that nature, given half a chance, is remarkably resilient. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, my goal in this blog is not to ignore or gloss over the environmental problems we face, but as I wrote in the Mission Statement for this blog: "this project is a testament to the power of the human spirit to find delight in God's awesome creation and to communicate that delight to others, to share in the discourse of revelation and healing."