#309 ASSIGNMENT: NICK BRANDT
We’re very lucky to have Nick Brandt, the internationally respected environmental photographer as my special guest to set a unique photography assignment and as you’re about to find out, this one may well be a challenge on many levels; for its message, for its wider meaning, for perhaps some writing, for the fact that you have more than the usual week. It's great to see the pictures you have been making from the assignments set so far, so please keep sending your photographs for inclusion on today's show page.
Send your pictures in to studio@photographydaily.show - 2000 pixels wide, any orientation you prefer; square, portrait or landscape.
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What does the environment mean to you?
Stop and think for a moment. What comes to your mind?
Do you consider local events? Are you thinking about your house, village and community?
Are your thoughts more about regional events like flooding or extreme weather conditions?
Or are you wondering about a larger-scale impact such as global warming or the effect of plastics on the environment?
I’m not going to answer these questions in this short photo essay. However, I would like to draw your attention to a local environmental impact event affecting my small commune recently.
My village is a small place in France nestled between the foot of the Jura mountains and the Swiss border. The nearest city is Geneva, just a stone’s throw away. In my commune, there is a popular shopping centre and as a result of its location, it attracts large numbers of shoppers on Saturdays.
On Sunday mornings I noticed discarded waste around two dustbins situated at the bus stop just across the road from McDonald’s restaurant. The mess was habitual occurring on a weekly basis and really upset the local environment. One Sunday morning I decided to stop, park my car and take some photos.
But now what should I do? I wasn’t sure so, as a considerable amount of waste was coming from the McDonald’s restaurant, I decided to write a direct message on my Instagram profile to McDonald’s France with some of the photos shown here. I didn’t expect any feedback but at least I’d done something.
The story doesn’t end there though! A couple of weeks after my direct message (that I suspect had no impact whatsoever) it appears that the issue had been solved, well at least there’s less mess on a Sunday morning now. How did they achieve this you may well ask? Well, I’ll tell you, they removed the two bins completely from the bus stop.
This certainly reduced the waste building up but I can’t help wondering what is happening to the rubbish now? Is it being disposed of in a more sustainable way or is it just being kicked down the road in someone else’s commune?