Amongst other things over the Christmas break, I have been reviewing a heap of slides and negatives that I took as a teenager during various trips we took in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. It was the time of the trusty RICOH 35 EFL and Pentax P30n, 35mm film cameras. Below 3 shots of the vast Etosha Pan in Namibia.
It’s my retrospective tribute to Hiroshi Sugimoto. Happy Holiday’s from Australia!
I guess like most people who have their heads down with work deadlines there is the tendancy to sometimes just ‘miss’ things, when something really important just happens to slip past your radar.
And when you eventually stop and take it in, and actually ‘get it’ you wonder how on earth you had hadn’t known about it sooner? Maybe you missed the News that night, TV coverage or Tweet…or maybe you watched it, but in a blur of media channel hopping one night – it didn’t stick?
The ‘Pacific Garbage Patch is one of those things for me. I had heard of it, I had googled it, watched a few you tube clips, and thought to myself something really really must be done about this huge amount of garbage floating around the North Pacific. This especially, as I had spent almost a month in Hawaii a few years ago and couldn’t reconcile plastic with the remoteness and beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.
Then I guess like can happen to most of us, it slowly slipped off my agenda as I got busy again. That was until I randomly came across this article on the Environmental News Network entitled: Birds and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Enter the work of photographer Chris Jordan & his team at Midway.
Copyright Chris Jordan - Midway: Message from the Gyre
I followed up by researching some of Chris Jordan’s photographic work on the Midway Atoll and have to admit being deeply impacted on what I saw and read on the links below. I implore you to take 5 minutes read the text, look at the images and watch the movie clips. Hopefully it will impact you in the same way.
“On Midway Atoll, a remote cluster of islands more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent, the detritus of our mass consumption surfaces in an astonishing place: inside the stomachs of thousands of dead baby albatrosses. The nesting chicks are fed lethal quantities of plastic by their parents, who mistake the floating trash for food as they forage over the vast polluted Pacific Ocean.
For me, kneeling over their carcasses is like looking into a macabre mirror. These birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth. Like the albatross, we first-world humans find ourselves lacking the ability to discern anymore what is nourishing from what is toxic to our lives and our spirits. Choked to death on our waste, the mythical albatross calls upon us to recognize that our greatest challenge lies not out there, but in here.”
From Chris Jordan’s Website http://www.chrisjordan.com
See the Photographs: Message from the Gyre
Copyright Chris Jordan - Midway: Message from the Gyre
Copyright Chris Jordan - Midway: Message from the Gyre
Copyright Chris Jordan - Midway: Message from the Gyre
Chris’ short movie trailer that must be watched can be viewed here:Midway
MIDWAY : trailer : a film by Chris Jordan from Midway on Vimeo.
“In the Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who was cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity.
A beach cleanup on Midway Atoll made us feel just like Sisyphus.There are millions of tons of plastics present in our oceans, and these are constantly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which are scattered throughout the water column and present, in different densities, throughout all the world’s oceans. Contrary to what many people believe, there are no visible islands of trash anywhere –even if some areas, the gyres, accumulate higher densities of plastic pollution. In actuality, what is happening is much more complex and scary: our oceans are becoming a planetary soup laced with plastic.
To make thing worse, these tiny pieces of plastic are extremely powerful chemical accumulators for organic persistent pollutants present in ambient sea water such as DDE’s and PCB’s. The whole food chain, from filtering invertebrates to marine mammals are eating plastic and /or other animals who have plastic in them. This means that we are. Like the albatrosses on Midway, we carry the garbage patch inside of us.
Cleaning up this mess is not feasible, technically or economically. Even if all the boats in the world were put to the task somehow, the cleanup would not only remove the plastics but also the plankton, which is the base of the food chain, and is responsible for capturing half of the CO2 of our atmosphere and generating half of the oxygen we need to breathe.
But even if this problem was solved too somehow, the amount of plastic that we could capture, at an immense cost, would be a drop in the bucket as compared to the amount that flows into the ocean every day. No matter how hard we push, in terms of technology or money, the boulder will be rolling back down the hill, throughout eternity, unless we stop putting more plastics into our environment.
The good news is that we can do this. We can do this now. We need to start a social movement that spreads virally and creates a critical mass of concerned citizens who pledge to move away from our disposable habits, and who raise their voice to reject and reverse a throwaway culture that might be profitable, but whose consequences are intolerable.”
From Manuel Maqueda.(Used with permission from this link: http://vimeo.com/8177268 )
I am left wondering; How on earth, can the world at large let this continue?
We need to be affected and moved to do something about this.
Having asked friends from Cape Town, London and New York if they had even heard about this, the response was unfortunately the same. NO.
So apart from the obvious action, to create awareness…blog, tweet, email, etc…to get the word out. We just have to stop buying and using disposable plastic.
(To quote Manuel in an email response to me): ‘Plastic pollution needs to be stopped at source, by refusing single use and disposable plastics.’
To make a small impact to an enormous problem, please visit and support the links below:
Chris Jordan’s website and contact info: www.ChrisJordan.com
Midway Project blog, team details, photos, videos: www.MidwayJourney.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Midway-Journey/117981432917
Donate: www.razoo.com/story/MidwayJourney
*Images and text are used with permission.
And finally for the sceptics…it’s not setup: http://vimeo.com/6640042
The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
Taken at sunset in the centre of the Park, this and others images from the spectacular Pinnacles Desert to soon be added to the stock collection, here: x
SAA 422 PE-JHB
Mobile Shot, Blackberry Curve. Descending the escalator.Transit summarised.
Australia
The book entitled 1000 Places to see before you die suprisingly suggests only a handful of of places to vist in Western Australia. Margaret River wine region & surrounds is on that list.
So recently after an unexpectedly pleasant (albeit slightly expensive encounter) at Leeuwin Wine Estate , I started to appreciate the landscape in a new way. Not having travelled to this area before but knowing that December gets hot, I was feeling expectant for a good afternoon’s shooting when the temperature dropped and the rain clouds moved in.
Just out, beyond the neatly clipped vineyards, the Australian landscape started to present itself. Scale, colour, mood, structure, texture, shadow and light. 1/400th f10.0 ISO 200.
Suspended in mid air [Coordinates 45° 52′ 43″ N, 6° 53′ 14″ E]
Holding the title of highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, the two-section journey to Aiguille Du Midi is guaranteed to induce a slight tingling sensation. Launching from the picturesque town of Chamonix, in the heart of the French Alps, one ascends through some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, reaching Piton Nord and the 360° platform at the summit of Aiguille Du Midi.
After a strong coffee, the potential onset of slight shortness of breath and an altitude induced headache, you can choose to board a much smaller cable car, roughly the size of a helicopter cockpit and travel horizontally to Helbronner at an elevation of 3,466m. Weather permitting this section of the journey offers spectacular views over the Valley Blanche and the Der Mer Glacier far below. Reaching Helbronner platform at the Italian border you may be rewarded with the most spectacular panoramas into Italy. Or maybe not…the mountainous weather changes with phenomenal speed, clouds, mist and rain able to render the cable car stationary at any time.
Photographically somewhere between ‘tourist snap’ and documentary black and white; the approach was simple: to capture the feeling of the journey. The ‘trophy view’ of the Mont Blanc summit being forfeited for ‘the essence of the experience’. Constantly marvelling at how this was first established and how much faith we place in the steel cable, I hope these images will give a considered and timeless representation to this unique experience.
See this story at JPGMAG
Eastern Cape, South Africa 5:21AM
A long road through the Karoo
…and out of South Africa (for now)…
Trying to capture a ‘best of’ retrospective set of images from South Africa has proved near impossible – too many images – too many subjects – too much personal connection – so I am going to wrap it up with this image taken on the road that runs from Middelburg through Graaff Reinet to Cape Town. It’s a long, straight and hot journey especially at 3pm on a Sunday afternooon when every cornershop inland seems to be closed…
About the photograph:
‘This photograph is taken on the N2 road to Cape Town, The Glen (my mother’s ‘family farm’), outside Graaff-Reniet, Eastern Cape South Africa, sits nestled among the taller vegetation to the centre of the image.
…if, like me, you haven’t been ‘home’ for a long time, go, look at your grandparents gravestones, smell the air, taste the food, remember your heritage, take a deep breath, give thanks you can, and go on…’
Contemplating district 9.
South Africa is a land with substantial ‘visual interest’, and it’s often, as I have previously mentioned, not where you would expect to find it.
Take DISTRICT 9 for example, and the unlikely yet complex visual backdrop to the film.
10/10 for originality and juxtapositioning of ideas.
The film, along with a few others recently set in South Africa (disgrace, invictus..), has been on my ‘watch-list’ since it’s release, and, it is brilliantly original. The political and social references continue to re-play long after the last scene…watch it; even if sci-fi is not your thing.
&
Charging White Rhinoceros, Mpofu Game Reserve, South Africathe charging white rhinoceros
SITUATION: MPOFU GAME RESERVE
LOCATION: EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA (Approx 3-4 hrs drive inland from Port Elizabeth, some would say out of the way…)
TIME: 07:23:50 (22.05.2009)
SUBJECT: CHARGING WHITE RHINO
FOCAL LENGTH / APERTURE : 450mm F/2.8
POST PRODUCTION: ADOBE CS3
About the photograph:
‘You just do not get to see this everyday…’
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JM Coetzee, John Malkovich, Eastern Cape, South Africa…a recipe for something of interest…disgrace.
If you have been following the retrospective posts you will be aware of the time I spent in South Africa last year – in the heart of the Eastern Cape – 100 kilometers from Grahamstown – it’s currently a dry place where ‘post-apartheid’ South Africa doesn’t neccesarily carry the same understanding as it may in other parts of the world…the film is worth watching…
'small town, eastern cape'
About the photograph:
‘small town, eastern cape’, Adelaide, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2009′
View from ‘Nel’s Hill’ over the town of Adelaide, with the Winterberg Mountains in the background.
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Watch the film…
four zebra at the waterhole.3
About the photograph:
‘’four zebra at the waterhole’.3, Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2009′
Posed, yet alert, in the bushveld that surrounds them, at the edge of the water.
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the quiet sunset.2 - Storms River Mouth, South Africa, 2009
Storms River Mouth Rest Camp part of the Garden Route National Park on the border of the Eastern / Western Cape has to be my favourite National Park in South Africa.
A strip of lush vegetation, a large and sudden topographic change down to the coast, and probably some one of the most awe inspiring and as ‘close to the ocean’ official camping sites and chalets that you will find without breaking some rule… and, then there’s the scenerey.
About the photograph:
‘the quiet sunset.2, Storms River Mouth Rest Camp, South Africa, 2009′
Unable to do justice to this incredible place – with one photograph – I have posted an image that captures a typical evening combination of sunset, coastal rock formations and just a hint of accommodation. It will take some time to get through the images captured here so keep a lookout on my website as I will be adding a ‘travel’ type section soon. If you are planning a trip to South Africa this is one spot not to miss.
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www.douglasmarkblack.com
snow in a dry land.1, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2009
2009 was an interesting year…3 countries, 3 continents, for almost 3 months at a time – with the last -being Australia, (which is where we have now settled). It really was, an interesting year.
Indulging in a little ‘retrospection’ the 3+ months in South Africa were definitely the highlight of 2009. A unique opportunity to indulge photographically, slow right down, and spend time with family. Being in a place where you still have a sense of ‘freedom’ or unaccountability was both frightening and liberating at the same time and in stark contrast to the CCTV socities of most major international cities.
The country, on the cusp of hosting the 2010 Football World Cup, is an interesting place to be. Ignoring crime for a minute (if you can) and I am not going to blog down that road…I had some fantastic photographic experiences ranging from charging white rhino to a horrific RTA/MVA (for those in SA) outside my window at 3am one morning…
So, as a last look back over the shoulder at 2009, I have decided to share some of my highlights and the images created during that time.
As I have often found, when travelling, it’s the places and situations slightly off the beaten track that present opportunities that you would least expect to capture some of the most dramatic images…
About the photograph:
‘snow in a dry land.1, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa 2009′
The irony is that the nearest country town situated an hours drive by 4×4 is currently rated as a disaster area due to the incredible drought … far from the night glow of urban sprawl people in areas like this need one thing to survive and when no water comes out of the tap, you have a problem.
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www.douglasmarkblack.com
Just back from a week without internet, emails and twitter! Fantastic
…but yes, behind schedule…visited Tsitsikamma National Park at Storms River Mouth, which has to be my new favourite National Park in South Africa, as well as a quick stop at Leisure Island in Knysna and then on to Graaff-Reniet (& surrounds), via Prince Alfreds Pass, for a few days, sadly missed the Owl House in Neu Bethesda but have to save something for next time…
Will post images on website and blog shortly once the dust settles and in the meantime will be uploading my ‘Blackberry photo a day’ for the last week via Flickr (see last test post).
I am loving the Flicker to WordPress and Flickr to Twitter applications!
Here’s 3 special locations that I have found incredibly awe inspiring and are just great for lansdcape photography…
Soussusvlei, Namibia –
There is something amazingly spectacular about the desert and the way light changes the colour of the sand – this is photographic paradise IMHO.
Les Contamines Alpine Lake Surrounds, French Alps, France –
France is so vast I am sure there are so many special little corners for amazing photography, one such place is the Alpine area of the Jovet Lakes a few hours hike up from Les Contamines. Fresh mountain air snow capped reflections in high altitude lakes – awesome.
The road to Mt. Cook, South Island New Zealand -
My 2 week experience of New Zealand (like most I guess) was largely weather dependant, thankfully the weather played its part and we were blessed with 10 from 14 days of sunshine, 1 such day was on the road to Mount Cook, from Christchurch. The light, the colours, the roughness of the mountain peaks – I could have spent a month there…
…shots taken using my holga 120N…
LONDON
PARIS
…
They are changing, all the time, but here are 9 interesting websites that currently help in keeping the mind active…spend some time with these…
It’s everywhere in the world, it’s constantly changing, it’s the most awesome backdrop to any photograph, its usually the most inspiring at sunrise, and my guess is… like me, you missed it this morning…It’s time get up, walk outside, and look up!… you never know you might even see a part of heaven up there…
