Earth Day 2020

When thinking of Earth Day, the poetic photograph above as a metaphor for what Earth Day represents for me always seems to come to mind. This was captured in the spring of 2006 and has all of the elements of hope for an Earth Day narrative: trees budding representing a new life, running water as an essential element to survive and the worn rocks reflecting passing time and earth memories. What can not be observed is that this location is at the outer edges of Los Angeles county, thus ten minutes or less from urban L.A., something I am very aware of when contemplating this photograph. Nature as an idea is really very relative these days and it can take a lot of work to make it appear isolated from the urban clutter and noise.

Earth Day is about ecology, environmental health and safety, and essential mankind’s survival, regretfully something that is total lost on those governing America today. Earth is not to be exploited, ravaged and misused; we are to be good stewards of our resources as well as not create environment and social issues. It is true, we only have one earth and when it’s gone, so are we. The short slightness of the current Republican administration is so appalling and this is a good day to remember we desperately need a political change to help preserve a quality of life for all of our future generations.

Tech notes: Color 120mm film, don’t recall the exposure, but had used a couple of neutral density filters to allow the shutter duration to approach 1 second to create the soft flow of water. This was made with the 80mm Planar lens on my old 500 C/M. Black & white conversion in PhotoShop with a number of layers to modify the tonalities, thus this is not a documentary photograph of nature, but what I think of as a poetic interpretation. Printing this photograph on the Hahnemuhle Rag Metallic is a contemporary twist on a Modern theme.

Cheers, stay healthy and safe,

Doug

Featured artwork above: Cascade, Spring, Placerita Canyon (Foundations project) copyright 2006 Douglas Stockdale

A Cascade, Spring, Placerita Canyon print is available at Fabrik Projects, the image size is 14″ x 13 1/4″ on a 17″ x 22″ sheet, and 22 x 23″ on 24 x 25″ sheet printed with  archival pigment ink on Hahnemuhle Rag Metallic. Please contact either me or Fabrik Projects for more information about this print.

P.S. Fabrik Project is “closed” for the pandemic, thus a small business that could use your financial help if you want to make a purchase. Buy now and we will ship later. Hugs! ;- D

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Gardening For Ordnance solo on-line exhibition, Fabrik Projects on Artsy.net, March 24th – April 30th, 2020.

Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) Faculty Exhibition, in Los Angeles at the new LACP gallery, located at 566 Washington Blvd. The exhibition opened March 21st and the closing reception is Saturday, April, 18, 2020, from 7-10pm. TBD

Update! Medium Photo 2020 Workshop: Developing a Creative Book workshop that I will be leading, is now rescheduled for September 24 – 27th, 2020, a four-day extended weekend workshop in San Diego.

Medium Photo 2020 Lecture Series, I will be giving a one-evening lecture Artist Books as Art Objects on Friday, March 20th, from 7:30 – 9pm at the You Belong Here artist venue, located at 3619 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, California 92104. TBD