Through the Looking glass

Photography Competition : Clean and Green, Singapore - You and Me

Looking at the world through nature. We often elaborate on a issue based on its political, social and economical aspect but how
about the environmental one? Many things can be concluded about something just by looking a the state of the environment it is
in. The series of photos aim to do just that, show the world through nature, through the looking grass.
The centerpiece of the picture is a large tree, being part of nature in all its glory. Surrounded by tiny shrubs with no other large trees
nearby, its size is just even more greatly emphasized. However, if you look in the background, and if you are observant enough to
identify what is in the foreground, you can see high-rise buildings and a bus stop shelter. From the amount of greenery, we can
derive a relationship between man and nature. Even in the midst of a heavily populated area, a tree of this size is able to grow. This
really shows how much effort the people have put in to allow such plants to co-exist with us. Though only one of these large trees
are seen in the picture, the people who made that effort should still be commended!
Through the foliage we see a block that houses hundreds of students. As seen in the picture, the foliage is thick, and yet,
the Hullett Block can still be seen. This is an analogy of what the man has done. Even through the thickest foliage of
nature, man has still found a way to inhabit that area. The new building in the background symbolizes the advancing
technology that made the feat possible. However, when talking about man breaking the boundaries of nature, one must
think if this is for the better because can we, man, handle this power or will we overdo it and fall flat on our faces?
The picture is like a snapshot, of time. This picture was taken after school, when students made their way to different
parts of the school. The clock tower towers over the school, as if it were in charge of the workings of everything in the
school. From where the picture was taken, the students did not look in this direction at all, exhibiting ignorance to the
patch of greenery which is so close to them. This shows that nature really exists in every corner and it is our
ignorance that prevents us from seeing the beauty of nature. In the working society, industries which damage the
environment must be blinded by their greed for money, which might explain their ignorant actions.
 This photo book will take you through a journey through equilibrium :

Equilibrium Challenged, Equilibrium at Work and Equilibrium Achieved

Just like achieving peace in a country that has been at war for the past century, equilibrium requires
a long time to be achieved, although there might be catalysts, factors which expedite the rate
equilibrium is achieved. Achieving equilibrium, in my opinion, is made of three stages, a state of
imbalance due to the involvement of other factors, like man. Then, there is change, when equilibrium
is setting in, the process where equilibrium is being achieved. Finally, there is equilibrium, when the
state of balance sets in and just like peace, can last for varying amounts of time. It might revert back
to a state of imbalance within days, or stay that way to thousands of years.

The first section, the state of imbalance, is made of several relationships, mainly man-environment
and environment-environment relationship. These relationships have upset the equilibrium and
embodies different characteristics. This section, the state of imbalance, is perceived to be the
longest because action isnʼt taken quickly and thus, the largest number of pictures.

The second section, the change, when equilibrium is slowly achieved. This section contains many
forces at work, in order to achieve a state of equilibrium.

The third section, the state of equilibrium, can be very short lived, thus having the least number of
pictures.

Enjoy, Equilibrium.
 Intruder out at Sea

From a first glance of the picture, you see an expanse of sea and sky filling up separate halves of the picture respectively, thus
exhibiting equilibrium in nature. However, on closer inspection, you would see a large ship in the middle of this sea of blue. This, is the
disruption of equilibrium. The sea used to be an exclusive place, void of man, however, as technology advances, sending large ships
out to sea is no big deal and even underwater exploration is being explored extensively. This picture is an example of how man, with
monstrous technology, tries to overcome nature and ruins the horizon. Man thinks heʼs so smart but is in fact upsetting the equilibrium.
 A Step into the Unknown

See the look of satisfaction as the child takes a step into the waters of the sea? Though closely guarded by his father, the boyʼs contact
with nature has piqued his curiosity. At such a young age, the boy is already starting to act like what adults do, challenge nature. Standing
upon the rocks, he feels a sense of security but by plunging his foot into the water below, it is a completely different experience, as seen by
the waves crashing upon the rocks. Like man, just because heʼs upon a rock, and has conquered some water, they think theyʼre almighty
and is invincible. This is when man starts to get complacent and takes a giant step into the unknown, just like the boy. Man is actually so
confident in their technology that they dare to belittle nature, misjudge its strength.This action of challenging nature does actually tip the
environment off equilibrium because with technology, man will slowly move into the picture and nature will never be the same again.
 “Ooh, Pretty!”

A hand holding a shell immediately catches your attention. As I walked along the stretch of beach, I see many people picking up shells
like this and even bring them home. With the introduction of man into the environment, such shells have been taken away from their
natural habitat and because of inadequate caring, they die. Also, the fingers of the person holding the shell is wrinkled, suggesting long
hours spent at the beach, picking up such organisms. Imagine how many creatures have been displaced. In the background of the
picture, though out of focus, a human settlement can be made out, telling us one thing, man has been there long enough to settle
themselves in. As the human settlement grows larger, the organisms will whittle away if this behavior keeps up. It is not natural for
equilibrium to be disrupted so suddenly by an external factor but man is doing just that, and that, has consequences.
 False Equilibrium

It looks like a picture of the sky, sea and sand and has equilibrium written all over it but is it really the case? If you look
along the shore, you can see figures of man.The picture was made obsolete as a picture of only nature when people
were spotted in it. Also, this shot was taken casually and yet, I am still able to capture people in the picture, how can
man find a way into every bit of nature we know of. Though sometimes the presence of man is tiny as compared to the
larger picture, humans will be humans and though small, we are capable of dealing the largest of damages.Things may
not be what they appear to be and equilibrium can be largely distorted just because of the presence of man.
 Human Resettlement

In the early age, man lived off nature, but as technology took over, we started moving into cities, void of nature, but now,
weʼre using this technology to modernize nature? The design of the building is modern and looks like a pub, a place for
recreation, is that a sign that man is using technology to get back near nature? Unlike ten years ago, people take more notice
of getaways and resorts and in a bid to get a piece of the pie. With companies all over the world building such infrastructure
at key locations is nature, those with the best view etc. With more human activity on the such locations, the quality of these
areas will surely degrade and once the “great view” is gone, whatʼs going to happen? People start to neglect them.
 Unaware but There

When we walk along the stretch of moist sand along beaches and we turn around, we often see a trail of our footsteps. Our action,
whether we know it or not, leaves its trail in a way or another. When we walk through waterlogged sand, our footsteps sends ripples
out towards the surrounding areas. Similarly, as man trudges through nature, he affects more than just the immediate surrounding
and this affects animals or the environment in ways we cannot perceive.The footsteps on the beach are like blemishes on scenery
but it can be easily washed away by the waves. On the other hand, the trail that man actually leaves behind has lasting
consequences. The equilibrium is upset because man does not accommodate nature at all, and the worse thing is, man is not
aware of the severity of the mistake he is making.
 Futility

The ball of sand thrown by the boy is an act of challenge towards nature. However, look at the sea, if that is not large enough, look at the sky, look at
how far it extends for, compare the ball of sand to it, what will it be but a tiny blemish on the surface of things. The ball of sand can represent
technology. With that amount of technology, we already feel almighty and dare challenge nature when there is so much more we havenʼt explored.
Man is very myopic, just because of protection offered by technology, man dares to challenge nature through actions like building near coastal areas
where tsunamis or hurricanes are commonplace but, is this protection enough? Also, the ball thrown is a ball of sand, and it is thrown onto sand,
which we know is just plain ineffective because within minutes, the sand will be uniformly distributed along the surface by waves. Just like that, man
derived technology from nature and now weʼre using it to try to conquer nature. Our efforts will just be “washed” away over time. This effort to disrupt
the equilibrium, though ineffective, shows the spirit, the determination man has to triumph over nature.
 Life in Death

This large bush has a bald spot probably because it was attacked by pests or by diseases and was starting
to spread to the rest of the plant. In order to let the rest of the plant survive, the infected leaves were cut off
in order to preserve life of the rest. These leaves, thought cut off, are already starting to grow back, as seen
in the picture.After being disrupted by disease or by pest, equilibrium is slowly being achieved again
through the regrowth of the leaves in order to let the plant return to a state before it was infected.
 Gone in Seconds

Within seconds of this picture being taken, the footstep you see would have disappeared. It would have been flattened into the sand by the
waves. That uniform flat, ground can be considered a state of equilibrium for sand, and the agents that enforces that equilibrium are
waves. Some factors speed it up, while others make the change towards equilibrium happen.When a tsunami hits a town, the weaker
infrastructures are brought down. Isnʼt this strikingly similar to waves lapping at sand, wearing it down to ground level. Also, the tsunami,
like this wave, acts quickly and strikes suddenly, leaving destruction in its tracks. Although towns will probably not get flattened, even by
tsunamis, the buildings are worn down, moving the state of the town closer to what it once was a long time ago, closer to equilibrium.
 A Successful Partnership

A mutualistic relationship between an ant and the plant. The plant provides food for the ants to survive and the ants, in return, help pollinate
the plant.This shows that the co-existence of two groups of organisms is possible, where both parties can benefit and this makes us think
why the relationship between man and environment cannot work out. In a mutualistic relationship, you give, and you take. However, in the
past decade, we have been excessively taking from the environment and giving little back.If ants, organisms which donʼt have a language,
or is capable of complex thinking, is able to work out a global relationship with another organism, why cant we make it happen? Is it
because we are not ready for it? This equilibrium between two organisms is very important because if there is an imbalance, the organism
losing out will soon die out. Therefore, this delicate equilibrium is something that we must try to achieve with the environment.
 Triumph Over Man

The weeds are seen to have grown out from the concrete walls, through the holes. This was actually taken in a MRT, a heavily developed
area and yet plants are able to grow in such conditions, Man tried to control the environment by building with concrete to keep soil and dirt
out of buildings but plants, found flaws in the design, took advantage of it and continued growing. In this example, it is environment that
found a loophole in manʼs planning and used it to survive. In the first few pictures, you see man triumphant over the environment but
shows the other end of the spectrum. This kind of relationship is fairly commensalistic as the structural credibility of the building is not
compromised due to the plants.This really shows that equilibrium, even in the smallest of ways, is trying to be achieved at all times.
 Reflecting Life

As this beetle dies, another is probably just starting to take flight somewhere else. This is how nature maintains an
equilibrium of the number of beetles in the environment, the death of an organism corresponds with the birth of another to
“replace” it. The picture was taken in such a way that a reflection of the beetle is shown in the image. The beetle is dead, on
its back, but its reflection, is in the orientation of a live beetle, just like it is crawling, therefore “reflecting life”. Nature has
many ways of maintaining equilibrium in an ecosystem, such as increased deaths, or births. Just like the lifespan of the
beetle was out of its control, we humans should admit that the environment is out of ours as well and not interfere with
nature, thus preserving the equilibrium nature has maintained so well over the millenniums.