Abstracted from above: close / far

Note: neither of these photos is by me.

JOHN SNELL: Newly formed ice on a vernal pond. EDWARD BURTYNSKY: Swakopmund Salt Works #1, Swakopmund, Namibia.

The shapes and patterns of the world, at the distance our naked eyes can perceive them, tend to the familiar and recognizable. But when we move a camera in magnifyingly close or peer down from on high, those ordinary pieces of our natural world grow abstracted and foreign, filled with deceitful allure and strange beauty.

Montpelier, Vermont photographer John Snell’s images of ice encompass worlds that are neither familiar nor alien, but inhabit somewhere magically in between. You can see more of John’s work at his solo show at the Highland Center for the Arts, February 17-March 17 and at https://stilllearningtosee.com

Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky’s aerial views, from plane and drone, document our anthropocene age, and how we have re-shaped and distorted the world, often to the terrible detriment of humanity and nature. And yet, the images capture awesome beauty within that decay and destruction. “Our planetary system,” Burtynsky wrote, “is affected by a magnitude of force as powerful as any naturally occurring global catastrophe, but one caused solely by a single species: us.” https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

Thanks to John for sharing his image, and I’ll have to hope Burtynsky will allow the abduction of his.