From the miles and miles of carefully sculpted rice fields in the province of Guangxi to the most spectacular displays of engineering of Hong Kong, China has demonstrated it’s masterful ways of manipulating the natural landscape for thousands of years. (Photo/Kre Reischel)
For the last Photo Round-up of our spring series, we explore how we engineer the world around us. In each of these pictures, the message is clear: We greatly alter the our surroundings, but we are often forced to—and wise to—work within the constraints of the natural landscape.
The shoreline and hills dictate the narrow zone of development in Hong Kong, which rises up instead of out. Photographer: Kre Reischel is a marketing professional who traveled Asia, the South Pacific and Europe to climb and to explore the culture.
Out of synch with trees and terrain, a cable car path cuts through existing forest in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Known as the Manitou Incline, what was once used for moving materials for building pipelines on Pikes Peak is now a popular hiking and running trail. (Photo/Chris Carruth)
Subtle changes in the landscape like the addition of wood ties on the Manitou Incline enable runners to experience “nature” with just a bit of trail work mixed in. Photographer: Chris Carruth is a master’s student in University of Colorado’s ATLAS program. He is taking photojournalism and also art photography and is a regular contributor to The Boulder Stand.
Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park winds with the curves of the hill tops, enabling car access in otherwise remote meadows. Photographer: Gavin Griffin is a sophomore at CU and currently taking Advanced Photography within Journalism and Mass Communication.
Thanks for joining us for a semester of photo inquiries into our relationship with our surroundings. Revisit The Stand’s Spring 2012 Photo Round-up series, listed below, and look to join in with submissions of your own in the future. In the meantime, the editor is going to dive into her own photo explorations for her University of Colorado Journalism and Mass Communication professional master’s project about people and volcanoes.
- Feb. 6: Snow Share
- March 9: What is Winter?
- March 16: Consumption
- March 23: Nature out My Window
- March 30: Signs of Spring
- April 6: Getting Around
- April 13: Water, Coming and Going
Keep your eyes on the world around you.
