Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Impact of Photography on the Awareness of Climate
Change
Amy Rebecca Burton
BA (hons) Photography
Practice as Research 6PG503
The University of Derby
15/12/2014
Contents
List of Illustrations 2
Introduction 3
Chapter 1: Mapping the world 5
The Enlightenment
Romanticism
Chapter 2: Changing Perspectives 11
Tourism
The Apollo Missions
Chapter 3: Contemporary Photography
19
Photographers
Organisations
Conclusion 26
References 28
Bibliography 29
1
List of illustrations
Fig. 1. An Oak Tree in Winter
William Henry Fox Talbot , , c.18424 p. 8
Fig. 2. Gustave Buk
Le Gray, , ok. 1855 p. 8
View of Hudson River from Tarrytown Heights
Fig. 3. Robert Havell Jr., , 1842, p. 11
Earthrise from the Moon
Fig. 4. NASA, Frank Borman & William Anders, , 1968, p. 13
Whole Earth
Fig. 5. NASA, Harrison Schmitt, , 1972, p. 13
Marias River Drainage and Pivot Irrigator
Fig. 6. Alex MacLean, , Loma Area, 1991, p. 19
Hazardous Waste Containment Site
Fig.7. Richard Misrach, , Louisiana, 1998, pp. 1920
Midway: Message from the Gyre
Fig. 8. Chris Jordan, , 2009present, p. 20
2
Introduction
This extended essay is a detailed exploration of whether photography has made a significant
difference in raising awareness of climate change in the past few decades. To do this, I will be
researching into the Enlightenment period and Romanticism, in order to gain understanding of
how these eras have changed the public’s views on the natural environment, and how it was
represented through art. I will be looking at the pioneers and organisations who have made
efforts to influence people’s feelings towards climate change. More specifically, I will be
reviewing how environmental photography has developed over the years, and the significance
of it’s role in changing the public’s opinions about the way we are impacting nature. In relation to
from the Apollo missions, changed our perceptions of the planet, and subsequently, how
contemporary photographers have made various efforts to raise awareness of climate change
using their images.
Climate change has been a highly controversial subject for a few decades now, with
governments, scientists, and individuals arguing whether we are actually having a permanent
negative impact on the planet, or not.
In the early nineteenth century, Joseph Fourier, a French physicist who studied the theory of
heat conduction, identified what we know as the natural greenhouse effect. The greenhouse
effect is often interpreted as the increase in the Earth’s average temperature, when heat from
the sun is absorbed by gases in the planet’s atmosphere. Soon after Fourier’s discovery,
3
effect, which in turn could possibly change the climate dramatically, in both a temporary and
permanent basis.
more and more towards the global warming theory, and in 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change was formed in order to gather information, research, and assess the causes
in turn, increased our understanding of climate change, and the short and long terms effects
certain activities are having on our planet.
An ever increasing number of people, photographers in particular, have joined in with the
mission to raise awareness, and to change the public’s views on the natural environment and
how we treat it. From Romantic picturesque landscape images and aerial photography, to
graphic images that shock the public into understanding our impacts, to images for
organisations such as the National Geographic, or the International League of Conservation
which is greatly beneficial in our gaining visual information about various ecosystems and
environments around the world.
4
Chapter 1: Mapping the World
Since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, poems and images of nature became more
popular in showing the beauty of the natural environment. The Enlightenment brought in new
equipment such as the telescope and the microscope, which allowed for many discoveries
about our world, and living organisms that had never been seen before. In opposition to this
environment. Writers, poets, and painters started to create pieces of work that expressed
Romantic observations of different natural areas.
The Enlightenment, which took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, was the
world around us.
In an essay on Environmentalism, written by David Peterson Del Mar, it is discussed that the
Enlightenment encouraged people to have less fear of nature, and more confidence in
understanding it, controlling it, and then manipulating the world around us for our own benefit.
1
There is a part in this essay in which Del Mar states that, ‘capitalism emasculated nature’
someone weaker and insignificant. Therefore, this statement is quite true in declaring that our
5
economy, politics, laws, and rules are creating a world in which nature is seen as not as
important or significant as it should be.
known to the public. One of the earliest known pieces on air pollution was written during the
London Dissipated
’, by English writer John Evelyn. This three part letter specifically for King
Charles ll, provided details of the problem with air pollution in London, as well as it’s effect on
quality in London by increasing vegetation and gardens in the area.
Many other pioneers in science, philosophy, and written works, like Benjamin Franklin, Jared
natural environment.
centuries, artists, poets, and writers showed resentment towards new technologies and
industrialisation processes, and opposed to it using works related to the Romantic movement.
dramatically, and used emotion, rather than science to show this.
The Romantic period is described as an artistic and literary movement in which the
characteristics included: ‘
subjectivity and emphasis on individualism; spontaneity; freedom from
6
rules; solitary life rather than life in society; the beliefs that imagination is superior to reason and
2
devotion to beauty; love of and worship of nature; and fascination with the past.’
Artists often created picturesque and sublime images of mountain ranges, deep chasms,
storms, oceans, volcanoes, avalanches, and so on. All of which stressed the beauty of the
landscape, as well as the immense power of nature that a lot of people couldn’t comprehend.
In an extended essay on Romanticism by Aidan Day, it is explained that the movement was a
, which
‘violent reaction to the Enlightenment’ 3 sparked works by many artists and poets inspired
by nature. This is both due to the advances in technology, which helped people to learn more
technology advancing our manipulation of nature. Many of these poets would write about the
beauty, power, health, and integrity of nature, in contrast to the destruction caused by mankind.
Wordsworth was one of the most famous poets of this period, as Day discusses in his essay,
collection of subjects to be examined, studied, and extracted by man.
Many other poets wrote similar works based on their observations; mans relationship with
nature, our feelings towards nature, and our negative impact upon it.
William Gilpin, an English writer and artist, also mentioned in Day’s essay, was well known for
7
had great influence on many other artists, writers and poets at the time, including Wordsworth.
As well as this, Gilpins observations aided greatly in popularising the Wye Tour, promoting the
area for its beauty, and building up the tourism in the UK.
first to appear, to give viewers a new insight into the natural world, and to document explored
environments around the globe. William Henry Fox Talbot, an inventor and pioneer in
natural objects and landscape scenes to emphasise it’s beauty, its power, and often, its fragility.
In Figures 1 and 2, the images are both based on the form of one particular subject of nature.
This form can be seen as dominating the landscape such as in Talbot’s photograph, yet it can
also be viewed as fragile, or broken, which we can see in Gray’s image. There are many
we see the landscape photographers William Henry Jackson and Ansel Adams, who
documented Yellowstone and Yosemite in America, to show the differences in the landscape,
and the effects that man was having on them. Because of their efforts in raising awareness of
their beauty.
After this historic turning point in the creative world, people started looking at new ways to
photograph certain subjects in the natural environment, in particular, how to take images that
if we don’t take action.
8
Fig. 1.
William Henry Fox Talbot , An Oak Tree in Winter, c.18424 p. 7
9
Fig. 2. Gustave
Le Gray, Buk, ok. 1855 p. 7
10
Chapter 2: Changing Perspectives
The creative writings and paintings around the world during the Romantic period sparked a
of which artists spoke so fondly. New transportation from railroads, to bicycles, and then
why is it that the tourist industry grew so dramatically, so quickly?
As many cities around the world grew larger, and more technologically advanced, they also
became more crowded and busy. More so, that the people living within these cities wanted to
escape from a society that they felt they were getting too ‘comfortable’ with. People wished to
escape from their hectic lives in search of, or indeed to create, a rural idyll often defined as a
natural area of perfection and peace.
Influences from artists such as Robert Havell Jr, a 19th century painter, aided in promoting
attractive locations to the public. As seen in Figure 3, Havell created pieces based on these
idyllic myths and scenes of the American countryside.
Landscape Photography’,
created by the writer Deborah Bright, there is a significant statistic
travelling to several of the National Parks around the US. Just twenty years later, about three
million people were then travelling to the same destinations.
11
Landscape photography has become a key element in showing the public various places of
interest. Because of this showcase of beauty and power, tourism has risen dramatically over the
People started to pay large amounts of money specifically for camping, adventures, leisure, and
so on; using nature for their own pleasure and entertainment, without thinking about what effects
also preoccupied with using and controlling nature to the point of destroying it.
If we are to briefly look back onto Del Mar’s essay on Environmentalism, there is a passage
included of a woman talking about the Derbyshire countryside being defaced and ruined by
man. She describes men ‘tearing through the fields like swarms of devastating locusts’ 4
,
destroying the countryside as they travel through it.
This metaphor for humans extinguishing nature is quite relevant, as we can see that where
tourism has become more popular, we have shaped and morphed the landscapes even more;
forming pathways, roads, fences to mark territory, and bins that never seem to be used. The
world has grown into a place so populated and controlled by people, that even the places we
call natural, are often not in todays’ society.
Although we might recognise that our adventures and holidays are causing damage to the
the
environment, tourism is still one of the biggest if not biggest industry in the world and it
constantly continues to grow. It has got to the point where we feel the need to discover new
experiences, and start exploring outside of our own world. Space tourism has been a popular
idea for a few years now because of this, and with aid from the English icon Richard Branson,
12
we are getting closer and closer to this possibility. The Apollo missions have been a great
influence in this desire for further space exploration, as the first images of Earth taken from
as the vast universe we are suspended in.
In the late twentieth century, NASA sent astronauts out into space in the Apollo missions in
fellow crewman William Anders took one of the most influential images ever recorded. ‘
Earthrise
Whole Earth
later in 1972, ‘ ’ (Figure 5) was taken by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. This
was then the first image taken of the Earth as a whole that the public had ever seen.
and how space travel has affected our views not only on our own environment, but other
environments outside ours.
Within this journal, it is mentioned that as soon as the images were published, they sparked
a view of Earth that they had never achieved before. Seeing the planet in such a vast and empty
space made us realise just how fragile, yet beautiful our world is.
There is also a quote within the journal, from former astronaut Jim Lovell on the missions’
success:
13
“We learned a lot about the Moon, but what we really learned was about the Earth, and how
insignificant we really all are. But then, how fortunate we are to enjoy living here amongst the
5
beauty of the Earth itself.”
Because of this significant new perspective on the planet, many new environmental acts were
created within a few years of seeing the Apollo images of Earth. In the US, the Clean Air Act,
in response.
like our new view of Earth. This and many other pieces were created to show the viewer
part of these landscapes.
As discussed in the journal, both the images taken from Apollo, and the space art created as a
result of the photographs, sparked a rise for global environmental awareness, as well as more
awareness of alien environments.
14
a different angle.
15
Fig. 3. Robert Havell Jr. View of Hudson River from Tarrytown Heights, 1842, p. 10
16
Fig. 4. NASA, Frank Borman & William Anders, Earthrise from the Moon, 1968, p. 12
17
Fig. 5. NASA, Harrison Schmitt, Whole Earth, 1972, p. 12
18
Chapter 3: Contemporary Photography
Photography today is changing dramatically, with new technology and cultures giving artists
the images from the Apollo missions, aerial photography is becoming an increasingly popular
landscape, or an object within a landscape.
Alex MacLean is an example of a photographer who is part of this trend. He has travelled
land
’. This collection of photographs ranges from themes such as agriculture and boundaries in
natural landscapes, to huge housing estates or car parks. His images have had a great
influence on how the natural environment is projected and received; and that aerial photographs
the magnitude of our effects on it. Many of the images in this collection, as seen in Figure 6
for
example, are effective in showing both the beauty of the environment, yet the destructive and
imagine how much of the natural landscape these structures and activities is destroying.
Although some photographers today use very different methods of dissemination, Romantic
strategies of presenting the beauty of the landscape are still used by artists such as Richard
Misrach, who emphasise our negative impact on the environment, as well as this beauty. This
Cancer Alley
American photographer is very well known for his series ‘ ’, which is a collection of
19
images that documents the industry along the Mississippi River, for about eighty miles. Each
image shows the viewer several problems that this industry is causing; including smog,
deforestation, and waste. Misrach often uses the beauty of the landscape in his images to make
us question what is going on in the scene that isn't considered beautiful. In Figure 7, nature is
the main context, however, we can clearly see what affect humans have had on the area from
this photograph.
A very different method of emphasising various issues within nature is to use shock tactics.
Photographers are increasingly producing very graphic images to draw the viewers attention,
and to make a bigger impact on how people feel about the natural environment.
found many dead young seabirds that had plastic inside them, due to their parents mistaking
trash for food, shown in Figure 8. This image very well represents all that we are doing to the
wildlife on Earth. Everything that we do has an effect on different species, yet we never think
about this, and very often, we do not act upon it. Seeing photographs which show so brutally
that humans are killing many animals everyday works well in drawing the viewers attention, and
making them consider what impacts we are having, and perhaps what we can do to change.
Although artists today often try to find very different ways to relate their photographs to the
natural environment in order to draw the viewer’s attention, a lot of photographers will still
choose to use landscape images. This may be due to the fact that they are sometimes
considered to be the ‘last preserve of a nation’s myths about nature, civilisation, and beauty.’ 6
As Deborah Bright explains here, landscape images have been used for a very long time to
20
represent the ideas we have of nature being peaceful, perfect and secluded from man; when in
fact, this is often not the case, simply because man has taken control of every possible aspect
of the planet as we know it.
spread worldwide through magazines and websites committed to these organisations, helps
raise awareness of an issue even further.
aims of increasing people’s knowledge of nature, and to inspire the public to care more about
the planet. The website, and the magazine are both teeming with stunning landscape and
wildlife images from various photographers, all of which are showing our world as an idyll. A
place of pure perfection. Even in the ‘environment’ section, where we can often see images of
cities, and cars, these photographs still have a strange beauty about them. Being part of this
a part of the evergrowing group who strive to make the planet a better place.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a very different organization, the sole
purpose of which is to gain more knowledge of climate change, and provide people with clear
climate change, and provide proof of various concepts around this subject the main being ice
melt.
21
The International League of Conservation Photographers is quite similar, in that they only use
their photography to communication certain environmental issues, and conservation to the
public. The aim of the people who are part of this organisation, is to spread not only
environmental conservation, but cultural also,through the use of the art of photography.
be powerful, beautiful, and this perfect place for humans to escape to when their city lives
become too much. However, we still feel the necessity to emphasise our direct and indirect
effects on natural environments through photography also.
amount of time. If one were to take an image of a stunning valley scene, with vast wooded areas
and thriving wildlife, in a few years' time, that area could become a city. A large area of concrete
and metal. Therefore, every image we take of nature becomes a record of how we have affected
it over the years.
22
Fig. 6. Alex MacLean, Marias River Drainage and Pivot Irrigator, Loma Area, 1991, p. 18
23
Fig.7. Richard Misrach, Hazardous Waste Containment Site, Louisiana, 1998, pp. 1819
24
Fig. 8. Chris Jordan, Midway: Message from the Gyre, 2009present, p. 19
25
Conclusion
In looking at the development of our awareness of climate change, and of environmental
photography over the past couple of centuries, it is evident that our knowledge and
understanding in this area has increased significantly. This is due to the advances in science
and technology from as early as the Enlightenment period, allowing us to both find out more
about certain aspects of nature, and to comprehend how important nature actually is, not only
for us, but for every other species on the planet.
From the Enlightenment, the Romantic period brought about a spark of interest in nature, by
well as the early visible changes that humans activities were making to it.
tourism around the world grew rapidly in a very short amount of time. People suddenly had the
desire to escape from their crowded and controlled city lives, only to visit a crowded and
controlled rural area. However, because of this new interest in nature, even more creative
perfection.
From then on, using the art of photography to show environmental awareness became more
and more popular, and in the late 1900’s, when the NASA Apollo missions produced the first
images of our planet as seen from space, the public’s views of the Earth and how we are
impacting it changed dramatically. Seeing the world from such a different perspective
26
encouraged people not to solely look at the planet as a source of energy and life, but also as a
how beautiful and delicate it is.
Contemporary artists today, now use many different methods of photographing to raise
awareness of climate change. An even greater advance in technology is allowing us to record
on many issues ranging from the loss of species, morphing the natural landscape, urbanisation,
ice melt, and so on.
Many organisations have also been formed over recent years to aid in raising awareness of
substantial impacts we are having on the planet. Without the use of photography to document
we live on, and we would not have clear recognition of what we are doing it, and in turn, we
would not know what to do in order to try and keep it alive.
changed since the Enlightenment, one can conclude that photography holds a very important
part in documenting what humans have done, and are doing to the planet; and in spreading
awareness of this around the world.
27
References:
7 Bright, D. (1985).
‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men: An Inquiry Into the Cultural
Meanings of Landscape Photography
’. Exposure, (23:1), p. 2
6 Bright, D. (1985).
‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men: An Inquiry Into the Cultural
Meanings of Landscape Photography
’. Exposure, (23:1), p. 11
Romanticism
3 Day, A. (1996). . New York: Routledge, pp.138
Rethinking Apollo: Envisioning Environmentalism in Space’
5 Henry, H & Taylor, A (2009), ‘ ,
Sociological Review, 57, p. 193
Environmentalism
1 Peterson Del Mar, D (2006), ‘ ’, First Edition, Routledge, p. 6
Environmentalism
4 Peterson Del Mar, D (2006), ‘ ’, First Edition, Routledge, p. 13
,
2 Uh.edu . Introduction to Romanticism.
(2014) [online] Available at:
http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/introduction.html[Accessed 19 Nov. 2014]
.
28
Bibliography:
BBC History William Henry Fox Talbot.
Bbc.co.uk, (2014). [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/fox_talbot_william_henry.shtml [Accessed 20 Nov.
2014].
BBC Weather Centre Climate Change Greenhouse Effect.
Bbc.co.uk, (2014). [online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/evidence/greenhouse_effect.shtml [Accessed 10 Dec.
2014]
Romanticism
Bc.edu,(2014). . [online] Available at:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/restor.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Bright, D. (1985).
‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men: An Inquiry Into the Cultural Meanings
of Landscape Photography’
. Exposure, (23:1), pp.111. Available at:
http://www.deborahbright.net/PDF/BrightMarlboro.pdf [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Handbook of Rural Studies.
Cloke, P., Marsden, T and Mooney, P. (2006). London: SAGE, p.
156
Romanticism.
Day, A. (1996). New York: Routledge, pp.1150
Robert Havell, Jr. (American painter).
Encyclopedia Britannica, (2014). [online] Available at:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/257284/RobertHavellJr [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014]
Evelyn, J. and Pegge, S. (1772).
Fumifugium, or, The inconvenience of the aer, and smoake of
London dissipated
. London: Reprinted for B. White.
The Enlightenment.
Hampson, N. (1968). Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 46217
Henry, H & Taylor, A (2009), ‘
Rethinking Apollo: Envisioning Environmentalism in Space’,
Sociological Review, 57, pp. 190203, Academic Search Index, EBSCO Host
Enlightenment Facts & Summary history.com
History.com, (2014), . [online] Available at:
29
http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
About iLCP > iLPC
International League of Conservation Photographers, (2014). . [online]
Available at: http://www.ilcp.com/about [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Ipcc.ch, (2014). [online] Available at:
https://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]
Nationalgeographic.com, (2014),
National Geographic: Images of Animals, Nature, and
Culture.
[online] Available at: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]
Environmentalism
Peterson Del Mar, D (2006), ‘ ’, First Edition, Routledge, pp. 326
Profile, V. (2011).
Jack's Geography Papers: What is the Rural Idyll and why do Geographers
find it important?
[online] Geocritic.blogspot.co.uk. Available at:
http://geocritic.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/whatisruralidyllandwhydo.html [Accessed 7 Dec.
2014].
,
Uh.edu . Introduction to Romanticism.
(2014) [online] Available at:
http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/introduction.html[Accessed 19 Nov. 2014]
Gustave Le Gray: Sea and Sky Photography Victoria and Albert Museum
Vam.ac.uk, (2014). .
[online] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/gustavelegreyexhibition/
[Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Visionofbritain.org.uk, (2014).
Vision of Britain | The travels of William Gilpin | Full text plus
mapping
. [online] Available at:
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/contents_page.jsp?t_id=Gilpin_Wye [Accessed 20 Nov.
2014].
Age of Enlightenment
Wikipedia, (2014). . [online] Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
History of climate change science
Wikipedia, (2014). . [online] Available at:
30
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_science [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Romanticism
Wikipedia, (2014). . [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism
[Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
William Gilpin (priest)
Wikipedia, (2014). . [online] Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilpin_(priest) [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
The Wye Tour and the Picturesque
Wyedeantourism.co.uk, (2014). . [online] Available at:
http://www.wyedeantourism.co.uk/g_wye_tour [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Amy Burton 2014
31