Humans in the enviornmemt - Valee

By

 





    I took some other posed photos for this assignment, but again and again I returned to this spur of the moment snap of Ziggy. I am so struck by it. There is such a sense of longing in their reach, the soft positioning of hand. They had ventured quietly into the cattails, reaching slowly to feel its softness. There is a magical air to the photograph, the fog in the background serves it very well. Their hand reaches across the horizon line, from the world of us to the misty world of reeds. It guides the eye so clearly to their focal point that we come to share it. 

The colors of this scene serve the photo well. The grey haze of the sky matching the tones of their keffiyeh, the focus on the pink hues of their skin and the yellows of the dried grasses. It all adds to this misty and dreamlike feeling.

An ankh peaks through. It points from  Ziggy's wrist to the plant they so tenderly grasp, and I am reminded of the potential that lives within seed. Being a symbol of life and immortal energy, the ankh is so much like the fluff of the cattail. Endlessly growing, reproducing, and living. It is one of my favorite details in this photograph. 

I hope that the viewer  is drawn to the cattail as Ziggy was. I hope the photo captures the quiet adoration, that delight I feel whenever I drive by a ditch of cattails. I want it to convey a reverence to these life-giving plants. I imagine the tenderness of harvesting them for food, the respect given to them for thousands of years before this. Like the ankh, they hold a long legacy of living.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2: Nature in our neighborhood-Amanda

By
Image
 This week, we focused on capturing images of animals in our neighborhood while reflecting on the types of wildlife that inhabit the area. Observing and photographing these creatures provided a fascinating insight into their behaviors and movements, making me appreciate the subtle beauty of local wildlife.  One of my favorite moments was photographing an owl, a shot from a previous quarter that I was particularly proud of. I managed to capture the bird’s full wingspan in Cornwall Park with a synchronous series of about five images, showcasing the power and grace of its flight. The way the owl’s wings stretched across the frame created a striking visual, highlighting both its size and the intricate details of its feathers. This experience reinforced how rewarding patience and timing can be when photographing wildlife, especially birds in motion.  The other two pictures I captured were of deer, which, while not as dramatic as the owl shots, presented their own unique challe...
Read more

Welcome to Environmental Photography

By
Image
 Nature is all around us! A camera is an incredible tool that not only captures what we see, but helps us to see more. When we pick up a camera we find ourselves on the spectrum between art and science. While our cameras objectively capture light, we decide where to point them and why. If a picture is worth a thousand words then an image can make valuable contribute to our understanding of an organism, inspire people to action, or make  someone smile. This blog will be a place for us to share our photos and our reflections about them.
Read more

Water Photoshoot -- Contessa

By
Image
  Water is what drew me to Bellingham. I was raised in Pennsylvania, a landlocked state, and while some count Lake Erie's 77 miles of Pennsylvania shoreline as a vague exemption to landlocked-ness, I do not. My entire life, the closest ocean was at least a full day's drive away in New Jersey. Those in Philadelphia had the luxury of making that drive in under two hours, but Pittsburgh is closer to the Midwest by a long shot, and I was significantly closer to Indianapolis than the ocean.  My mom was born and raised in University Place, Tacoma with constant access to the water. If it was nice out, she went to the water. If it was a special occasion, she went to the water. If she had free time or needed to breathe good air or had any excuse at all, she went to the water.   When she married my father, he brought her to Pittsburgh, where he grew up and where starter homes were affordable for a freshly married couple in graduate school with plans to raise two children. She was b...
Read more