Waiting for the Man

Outside the Fourth District Juvenile Court, Orem

Self-Conscious Waterfall

Also found at LDS Earth Stewardship

I took this picture at BYU's south campus stream and trail, a landscaping/restoration project completed in April 2011. It was apparently quite a project, and thus somewhat amusingly became an Event.

I admit, it looks nice. But there's something rather (to use my brother's description) self-conscious about this project. My picture doesn't show the stream, or the trail, but shows one of five waterfalls along the stream and trail. It also shows how badly BYU's landscaping team wants to create a natural scene. But by wanting a natural look that also imbues each waterfall with "its own personality" (Bruce Maw, BYU Campus Landscape Architect) they have constructed a natural look that is so calculated as to become unnatural. It's basically an outdoor set piece, where nature is a prop used primarily for our personal pleasure, rather than an autonomous group of systems that each have their own patterns of behavior.

I appreciate having a place for students to "get away from it all" and enjoy some nature - I want that, too. It's important to have gardens and responsibly integrate nature into the urban space. But I get uncomfortable when part of the motivation seems to be to construct a superficial image of beauty and prosperity that values nature solely for what it can do for us, something to be tamed and controlled. BYU sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where trails aplenty take you out of the city and human-constructed natural landscapes into much more vibrant, rejuvenating and adventurous territory. I worry that creating such docile and predictable spaces hinders us from taking nature on its own terms, where it is not simply a submissive prop. We think we know how best to handle the environment, which is hardly true considering the strain Utah Valley, and BYU, put on our desert environment.

The south campus stream and trail is a nice gesture, but it's incomplete. For my part, the south campus stream and trail still lacks a genuine personality, and instead displays a self-conscious and somewhat superficial personality I too often find at the university.

Turn on the Bright Lights

Pretentious

I don't typically do self-portraits for rather apparent reasons. But I had a roll to finish and my creativity was exhausted.

"Was ist die Befindlichkeit des Landes?"

Potsdamer Platz, Berlin; summer 2008

One of those lucky moments. This picture still just charms me and it's probably my favorite picture from Berlin. I don't think we have to be city people to be fascinated by the city and urbanity. Berlin is without a doubt my favorite big city and I'm hoping for the chance to go back.

Cascade

On flickr

Another shot from way back that seemed appropriate after this post. I'm still very fond of this one.

Broken, Pt. 3

Somewhere in SLC.

You

So It Goes

First time shooting Ilford HP5. I'm glad I have two more rolls of the stuff.

Find Your Note

My N65 is pulling the film through weirdly, resulting in some lines on my negatives, which often doesn't enhance the image in any way. Therefore, the N65 is taking a leave of absence while I consider my options. With Allen's Camera already willing to muck up my scans by not cleaning their scanner properly (they tell me it's really hard to keep it clean, which I don't doubt; but they're supposed to be pros, so I have no sympathy for their hardships), the lines are one challenge too many.

Still, despite the lines and dust, I thought this one turned out alright.