CRJ Week @#*$
Falmouth University MA Photography
Module 2: Sustainable Strategies PHO730
10/06/2023
Topic 1 and 2: All the glass we carry
10/06/2023
I am not great at journaling. I am neither organised or energised enough to keep a train of thought which allows me to follow the content in a manner which makes me feel connected to the workload.
This said, the videos have been quite engaging and given me real food for thought. I know that I am having trouble with engaging with the ideas of sustainable practice. I am fully on board with the idea that my practice has an impact on my environment, and that we humans are not having a great impact upon how sustainable our activity is for us, humans. Where I depart is that the planet is in danger, it is not. The planet has survived far more toxic environments than we can throw at it, it is us humans who are under threat. The rest is a fallacy.
I do my bit, buy used equipment, don’t travel half way round the world, recycle our household waste and clean up my environment to the best of my ability. I really have no interest in the manufacture of my equipment and the carbon footprint that leaves, I can either choose to take photos or not based on my conscience.
I hope that the sustainability of my work is linked the understanding it brings to the people now and in the future. Mental health and stigma around this are my real passions. The message I deliver has to be sustainable, the manufacture of equipment will always have a negative impact on the human environment, not matter how we attempt to balance this off.
11/06/2023
I have uploaded some unedited images below. I have worked hard to establish a style that is mine, doing this is quite a challenge for me as I am colour blind and never quite know whether the images have the right balance of colour. Unedited versions also have the potential to expose my photography, this is challenging.
The event ‘Jazzin’the park’ also gives me the opportunity to follow something I believe in strongly, social cohesion, there is room for protest, but sometime the best form of protest is bringing people together, I believe we are stronger together and events like this are important to me, so leaving the camera to do all the work really challenges me, because I want to do the cause good. Does this make it sustainable? Does it matter? Does my idea of what is best mean anything? I don’t have the answers, I am not even sure what a good photo is anymore, aesthetic used to mean a lot, I get a feel from an image, that is what makes it meaningful to me and gives it some sustainability. I think!
