Pictures without People

“Who will bear witness to these small islands and oases of wildness as land is divided and sold to become strip malls, housing developments, and parking lots? What happens to the natural history here? We must bear witness.” ― Joni L. James, Dancing With Herons: Bearing Witness to Local Natural History. All of my photos that I have chosen include ultimate landscapes. I really enjoy landscape photos more than other photographs. The reason being, you are captured in that instant, that time, and that period. No landscape or landmark will ever remain the same. It will be torn down, built upon, or wiped away. Do you ever go back to your childhood and say to yourself “Remember when?”  Some people do not realize they are doing it, but they do.  I remember when the trees were reasonably littler and I could climb them to the top. I remember when the park down the street had a worn out rope wrapped around the thick tree branch and an amazing tire swing at the end of it. I remember when there was a safe, well-built fishing pier at the beach. This is why I have chosen landscaping photos, to remember that worthy moment then and now. 

Plummer, Sydni “Trail to nowhere”. The empty, splendid boardwalk has a variety of details that some people do not value. The pattern of the boardwalk is a complex arrangement of squares and rectangles. This amazing photo has been modified to create a worn image and has been illustrated in black and white. This boardwalk reminds me of the times I have gone camping and where they have placed these tremendous boardwalks around the park, for hikers, or site seekers.  The trees are full of leaves and are reaching over the boardwalk and look as though as if they are consuming the boardwalk in the distance.   I think the photographer chose this photo because of the linear shapes involved. The position he captured this image in makes the boardwalk look as if it never ends and leads somewhere far within the woods.  If you took a walk on this boardwalk then you would see a bounty of nature as you go further into the woods.  The objects in the photo make it appear to be symmetrical, meaning, beauty as a result of balance. The frame that the photographer chose to put the photo in is white with a thick border, causing the image to have distance.

Morris, Hailey “Behind the Dark there was Light”.  This photo brings sadness to my heart. There are no boards to walk on and the water appears to be unruffled. The ghostly background reminds me of when Hurricane Katrina came through the Mississippi area and destroyed a lot of docks and fishing piers. The photo contains the bones of where I’m sure a domestic dock used to be. The several empty posts that are left shooting out of the water with some of the boards awkwardly slanted are still trying to connect the post together. The post lead to what remains of the dock that used to be, and now just sits there separated from what its attachment was to something greater and useful. The only remnants remaining are a roof and a few boards.    The photo seems to have been taken after a storm had finished coming through, ripping the planks from the dock and leaving it in a manor of destruction and forgotten state.  The sky is gray and dark with a few other light grayish clouds accompanying it. There are no birds in the sky and the sun is no where in sight.

Shippee, John “Cemetery Beach”.   The photo has a variety of colors and details involved within the scenery. There are naked trees, grayish water, and most importantly the different colors of blues in the sky. The shades of blue in the sky are light blue, dark blue, and a grayish blue.  The sky is occupied with white, fluffy clouds and the trees are bare without any leaves. For this, I think the name is a great title for this photo.   There are also brown, short and long tree logs that have washed up upon the orange, sandy, shore line. There are not any people in this photo; therefore the image looks as a deserted beach. This photo seems to have been taking after a destructive storm passed through, ripping the leaves from the trees and leaving the once beautiful beach in a desalinate state.  However, from looking at the vibrant blue sky you can see the beautiful white plush clouds pushing the dark menacing clouds away. This is where is see a sense of renewal and hope.  There will be one day when the leaves will begin to appear again amongst the branches of the bare trees, the tides will sweep away the debris and people will once again occupy the beach.

Landscape and landmarks will always change. Rather it’s due to the population, pollution, or mother-nature.  People will grow older, and the land will grow with us. I have always valued photographs as treasures of moments. All of these photos will one day be a part history showing the way things used to be and will be looked upon and someone will say “Remember when?”

Journal 1- ENC1101 TOPIC

The first time I went to class, I was nervous. I have never been a good writer, so I was a little hesitant when signing up. But overall the course was defiantly a learning experience. I learned some things but I am still a little challenged on choosing the appropriate words and placing them into a professional manner. Our professor was helpful but I think she glanced over the essays to quickly and the comments that she left were not very helpful. Now that I took ENC1101 I know how to build an outline and take a second to answer the few questions of what, why, where, when and how. One of my favorite essays to write is the informative. But it really helps when I have a list of options to choose from because it is still difficult to generate a good writing topic. But once I have a topic, I think I can finish all the way through with no problem.