Art Photography – Page 3 – ARKS, ADAM AND AXARQUIA

CHUQUICAMATA – EYESORE OR THING OF BEAUTY?

December 3, 2014May 24, 2020 by adamhalevi, posted in Art Photography, Atacama Desert, Chile, Copper mining, travel

It’s been the best part of three decades since we visited the copper mine at Chuquicamata in Chile, and I still can’t decide whether it was a thing of stunning aesthetic quality or a vast, hideous blemish on an otherwise almost virgin landscape.

The facts are these: It’s the second deepest man-made pit, and the largest open-cast copper mine in the world by volume.

Moreover – before anyone gets all outraged and self-righteous about my conundrum – the copper wiring powering the laptop, Mac or PC you’re currently looking at this site on comes from this very pit or another mine just like it somewhere else on the planet.

What I remember mostly from our visit (apart from the terrible air quality from the smoke stacks nearby) was the sense of overwhelming awe when we first looked over the edge of the mine. I also remember the expressions upon the faces of all the members of our little tour party at that moment as we all looked at each other in disbelieving amazement. Everyone was smiling – inanely and bemused for sure – but we were smiling.

As usual with these gallery posts, ultimately it’s the images which must do the talking and the convincing – or otherwise. Do they make you smile or make you cry.

GLORIOUS BRITAIN

December 2, 2014 by adamhalevi, posted in Art Photography, Britain, Lake District, travel

1: THE ENGLISH LAKES

(Ullswater & District)

Another set of images from film taken on my old Canonet 28 back in the early 70’s. Fortunately, the exquisite beauty and moody majesty of the Lake District is eternal. These scenes are all of Lake Ullswater and its surrounding fells.

SYDNEY – URBAN “COSTUME JEWELRY” OR FABERGE? 1

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 by adamhalevi, posted in Art Photography, Australia, Sydney harbour Bridge, travel

Clive James once wrote that Sydney looked like costume jewelry from the air at night (or words to that effect). As a pom with a strong preference for Melbourne I’m not all that objective about the relative merits, whether cultural, cosmopolitanism, dynamism and even cuisine – of the two great rival cities of Australia but even I have to own that the capital of New South Wales wins hands down in the looks stakes. In fact, I would say that Sydney is an artist’s/photographer’s dream – definitely more Faberge than costume. I might even go so far as to claim that Sydney Harbour is the most photogenic “urban feature” on the planet. It’s one of those rare places where you can just point the camera willy-nilly and be certain that you’ll have a fabulous looking image. In the days of film, as a rule I would bank on having one good shot in every six and one great shot per-36 role. With Sydney Harbour though, the odds would be far more favourable. To prove my point here is the first in a series of two galleries concentrating on the harbour and its two most iconic architectural features. As a rule, I would never publish more than two or three images of the same structure but in the case of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the (unjustly-much-maligned) Opera House the aesthetic possibilities are almost endless…