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"The Earth and Man's work"

Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Clay and Steel


Here is a picture of two different worlds, in various ways. Thanks for looking






f21095.jpg


Cem Usakligil: Clay and Steel








​
Cheers (or perhaps not),

​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
fahim mohammed

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Cem, both of these worlds seem so uninviting. suppose one was crossing the clay to escape from it;
after a tiring hike the 'steel' site greets one...what would one feel. i would feel very sad...

this is a feeling I get looking at this picture and the perspective.

regards.
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Thanks Ron and Fahim for stopping by. I guess I should tell you a bit about my thoughts regarding this picture.

Firstly, there is the question of agriculture vs industry. This is an operational farm on the foreground. Its produce eventually gets eaten by somebody somewhere. So questions about pollution and ecology come to mind.The background is a collection of various industries, mostly chemical. To the left one can see the double chimneys of the nuclear power plant of Doel. In that sense it is one of the most ecology unfriendly environments in the low countries, although in reality the pollution is reasonably low as they have to observe many laws regarding the safety and the environment.

Another aspect, albeit totally irrelevant photographically, is the fact that the farm is in the Netherlands and the industrial area behind it is in Belgium; so we are looking at two countries in this one picture.

Cheers,
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Pairing nature and man's work can give such different effects on our sentiments.


I immediately thought of the picture by Jan Louserma, from Groningen, another "Dutchie" as he calls himself.


expo_Jan_Luursema_e.jpg


This image gave a me a feeling of the mastery of the earth for our sustenance and I felt good and comforted about earth's plenty for us. At the time I wondered about the different ways of expressing this pair of ideas, the earth and man's work.


Cem_Usakligil said:
Here is a picture of two different worlds, in various ways. Thanks for looking
Click to expand...







f21095.jpg






​


I think the Title "Cheers! Perhaps not!" would be apt for your more sombre version. Note that the lines in the dry clay go to the side and move us out of the image to the left whereas n Jan's more positive mage, the ploughed fields take us to a home.


Asher
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Asher,

Thanks for your thoughtful comments and for turning this into a theme/challenge topic. To be honest, "The Earth and Man's Work" was not the thinking behind my initial post which was more geared towards the issue of ecology/environment. But I can imagine that this wider theme has the potential to turn this into a prosperous thread. So I hope others will chime in shortly. :)

Cheers,
 
J

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Cem,
I better understand what you were trying to express with this image after your last post.
Your explanation (...there is the question of agriculture vs industry) helps, but I'm still having difficulty identifying those relationships as they relate in the image. For me, the foreground does not immediately convey farming.
Now this could be the result of growing up in a concrete jungle, hence a furrowed row is an unfamiliar sight to me. With the absence of crops I think there needs more of an anchor to farming. Maybe a tractor or other farm implement.
That, or I need to visit a farm before I pass judgement on what one should look like! :)
I need to ponder this image some more...


f21095.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
John Angulat said:
Hi Cem,
I better understand what you were trying to express with this image after your last post.
Your explanation (...there is the question of agriculture vs industry) helps, but I'm still having difficulty identifying those relationships as they relate in the image. For me, the foreground does not immediately convey farming.
Now this could be the result of growing up in a concrete jungle, hence a furrowed row is an unfamiliar sight to me. With the absence of crops I think there needs more of an anchor to farming. Maybe a tractor or other farm implement.
That, or I need to visit a farm before I pass judgement on what one should look like! :)
I need to ponder this image some more...
Click to expand...
Hi John,

This goes to show that many things we interpret by looking at pictures is culture/background driven. Yes, this farm does not show the typical icons associated with farming but it would be immediately recognizable as such to the people from around here. For example, that building top left is a typical storage building.

I don't want to "defend" this photograph because it was taken as a documentary/PJ one relating to the issues of environment. I did not have any artistic aspirations with it. :)

Cheers,
 
J

janet Smith

pro member
Cem_Usakligil said:
"The Earth and Man's Work" was not the thinking behind my initial post which was more geared towards the issue of ecology/environment. But I can imagine that this wider theme has the potential to turn this into a prosperous thread. So I hope others will chime in shortly. :)
Click to expand...

I like this shot Cem and the theme "The Earth and Man's Work" I don't think I've any shots to share on this theme at the moment, but I'll bear it in mind, the next time I'm out shooting, a very good idea - thank you
 
Charlotte Thompson

Charlotte Thompson

Well-known member
Cem

It seems to me to be a theme of "Man eating up the earth that in reality sustains man himself"
what a great shot for us to think about once again!

the stark reality of the small farm begging to survive industry

Charlotte-
 
S

StuartRae

New member
Hi Cem,

It's a shame there have been no follow-up images, but I guess it's difficult to pin down the topic. Is it jusr earth, or the Earth? Man against nature or industry against farming?

I'll put my neck on the block, assume the wider view, and post three images of the Honister slate quarries; three because I think they fit together.
If they don't fulfill the criteria please move them to the Landscape forum.

slate-1.jpg


slate-2.jpg


slate-3.jpg

Regards,

Stuart
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Stuart,

StuartRae said:
Hi Cem,

It's a shame there have been no follow-up images, but I guess it's difficult to pin down the topic. Is it jusr earth, or the Earth? Man against nature or industry against farming?

I'll put my neck on the block, assume the wider view, and post three images of the Honister slate quarries; three because I think they fit together.
If they don't fulfill the criteria please move them to the Landscape forum.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for these images, they are perfect as Asher wrote before me. You are right about the topic being a little unclear. Do you have a suggestion for another topic title? In any case, I think that Asher has meant this challenge to be about "man against nature" if I understood him correctly. Let's wait for him to clarify :)

Re. the images: I have never seen a slate quarry before so I am glad to have seen some pictures of one now. The first one made me think of a garbage dump area or something along those lines. Whereas the last one is the opposite with the beautiful view on the mountains and the yellow foliage. The cloudscape in all the images is very interesting BTW. Thanks for sharing again :))

Cheers,
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Guys', you've interpreted it correctly. It should be taken broadly and these first examples by Cem, Jan and Stuart serve to map out some of the areas that this theme covers.

Asher
 
J

janet Smith

pro member
StuartRae said:
slate-3.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi Stuart

These are really nice Stuart, I particularly like this one, I love Honister Pass and have table mats from the slate mine, it's a fascinating place, I've never managed to see it in good light yet though, everytime I've been it's either been raining or about to rain! so it's nice to see your photographs!
HERE is the link to my shot of Honister Pass, the mine is at the top of the mountain pass, for those of you who may be interested.

I'll shoot something for this thread when I can.....

Jan
 
D

Damien Paul

New member
Hi Cem (and everyone else).

I can relate to the original picture living in this megacity (Tokyo) _ live in the heart of the city, but often travel out and about.

To the north (mainly) of Tokyo there are scenes like what you have presented, and I often pass by one such scene when I head out to the airport (Narita) - there is a point where Tokyo 'ends' and just before Narita 'starts' that looks somewhat you have posted - but with a slight twist.

Both are examples of controlled environments, ironically causing chaos to the surrounding natural environment.
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Damien Igoe said:
Hi Cem (and everyone else).

I can relate to the original picture living in this megacity (Tokyo) _ live in the heart of the city, but often travel out and about.

To the north (mainly) of Tokyo there are scenes like what you have presented, and I often pass by one such scene when I head out to the airport (Narita) - there is a point where Tokyo 'ends' and just before Narita 'starts' that looks somewhat you have posted - but with a slight twist.

Both are examples of controlled environments, ironically causing chaos to the surrounding natural environment.
Click to expand...
Hi Damien,

Thanks for your considerate comments. Please feel free to share any pictures here.

Cheers,
 
J

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Cem,
I believe nature's victories are complete and she suffers little in the way of casualties.
Absent a process to keep her at bay, she is relentless and all-consuming.
I like your image. The decay has begun.

Here's another image of nature getting even and reclaiming her space:

JA3_0944sm.jpg
 
D

Damien Paul

New member
Well, here goes - this is an image taken from the cable car (that kept breaking down) on the way to the Po Lin Monastery, Hong Kong.

It features aspects of my study - colour and haze - but a river dividing the forest from the airport and the urban haze.

4440491736_fb9466bb33_o.jpg


Damien Igoe: Battle Lines​
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Damien Igoe said:
Well, here goes - this is an image taken from the cable car (that kept breaking down) on the way to the Po Lin Monastery, Hong Kong.

It features aspects of my study - colour and haze - but a river dividing the forest from the airport and the urban haze.

4440491736_fb9466bb33_o.jpg


Damien Igoe: Battle Lines​
Click to expand...

Damien Igoe said:
Another one from Hong Kong:

People enclosed away from nature below

4439767357_24fe033970.jpg


Damien Igoe: Nature free, Man enclosed​
Click to expand...
Hi Damien,

Do you use these kind of images (containing haze) for your study also, or is it just a coincidence? Nevertheless, thanks for sharing these. They are interesting images, definitely. Especially the second one suffers from lens flare and probably also Veiling glare. Is that also part of your study? Bart was telling me the other day how Veiling glare seems to effect the dynamic range (negatively) in most pictures even when we don't notice it. Perhaps we can start another thread in the Imaging Technology forum about this topic.

Cheers,
 
D

Damien Paul

New member
Yes, I do use pictures such as this for my studies. The lens flare and veiling glare, I noticed as well. All part of the nature vs man effect I found with these pictures.
 
S

StuartRae

New member
I meant to post this earlier as an example of 'nature's revenge'.

Once a public house (The Old Ferry House) and then a private dwelling where I remember playing with my cousins and attending Christmas parties.

ferry-4.jpg

​
Regards,

Stuart
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
StuartRae said:
I meant to post this earlier as an example of 'nature's revenge'.

Once a public house (The Old Ferry House) and then a private dwelling where I remember playing with my cousins and attending Christmas parties.

ferry-4.jpg

​
Regards,

Stuart
Click to expand...
Hi Stuart,

It must be an awkward feeling to see a trusted place from your youth become derelict like this. Have you always been in the neighbourhood and witnessed the gradual decay or did you find out that it became like this after not having seen it for a long while? Despite the decay, there is a cheery feeling to this image. Nice, saturated colors and blue skies; probably taken in late afternoon or during sunset? Or did you also do some tone mapping or exposure blending? Anyway, I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Stuart,

I'd have thought someone would have jumped at the chance to use the place! You couldn't be the only one with nostalgia!

Asher

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be" Am Phillips in her famous "Fan Dance" DVD
 
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