The movie was absolutely stunning in its depiction of humanity’s near permanent effect on the planet. The whole experience though left me with a very pessimistic view of our future.
The audience of about 100 people consisted mostly of the upper-class business elite in my city. I was lucky enough to be one of the attendees through a draw for tickets from work. The free cocktail hour foods catered from various high-end restaurants in the city were far from sustainable. Salmon pops, prosciutto truffle wraps, and other lavish treats were laid out. The irony was lost it seemed, on the attendees that night. After being ushered in, the speaker discussed the importance of reducing consumption of disposable products, driving less, and shopping locally; the low hanging talking points of your standard climate change talk.
The crowd cheered every time one of the panel members exclaimed a call-to-action. I never felt so discouraged about our fate as I did these moments. All the enthusiasm in the room seemed to be so fleeting. Most of them I’d imagine went home and slept well.
Welp, that’s all I wanted to say. I’d still recommend watching it if you feel like the existentialist dread has waned a little.
Cheers
Every Friday I'm going to pull together a couple of resources on a more-or-less well-known photographer. Everyone is invited to post anything relating to them or their work. Other resources, interviews, tutorials, or just your thoughts would all be great to see. If you've taken any photos that you would consider to be inspired by their work, please share!
Edward Burtynsky is the focus of week two.
I encourage everyone to check out the galleries on his website, especially the Quarries and China projects, which both contain a lot of striking images.
He has also done two films. Watermark is the most recent. Many stills from the project are also shown in his Water gallery. There is also a making-of video on YouTube.
The Economist has a video interview with Burtynsky about the Watermark project.
His previous film, Manufactured Landscapes, is available to view for free on Hulu (with commercials), or for a $2 rental fee on Amazon Instant.
He also gave a TED talk relating to the project.
What are your thoughts on Burtynsky?
