Exploring topics and being part of the debate using photographs

[lovelife65]

One of functions that photographs and photography can have is to prompt debate. The objective of the Contemporary Group of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) is: -Photography that conveys ideas, stimulates thought and encourages interpretation; photographs "about" rather than "of".

This takes us far from producing 'one off' prints and into the realms of explorations (or projects).

That is the way I have taken my photography of late. Hot on the heels of my exploration of the newly commissioned 'power super highway' running across the country and its impact on the land, I have turned my attention to renewable energy. Scotland prides itself on being a champion of renewable energy - land and sea-based wind farms; tidal; wave; and solar.

However, much as renewable energy is needed as we fight to tackle climate change, wind farms in particular have the ability to generate wildly differing views and hotly debated arguments. For example, in response to an image I published in an online forum dedicated to that part of Scotland that is overrun, some will argue, by wind farms, I got:- "HORRIBLE. They represent the rape of our beautiful Caithness landscape + the prostitution of members of the community who are unable to voice opposition as they fear ridicule if they were to make use of projects funded by these things."

I think photography should be used as part of debate, either to prompt opinion or to voice opinion. This is not about producing fine art images for the wall. Nor is it, I think, photo-journalism. Perhaps it is best placed in a photo-book. But is a challenge and fun to do.

Fantastic all together Donald. Thank you for sharing.

[lovelife65]

Like you say Donald, they are widely and hotly debated, and whether I find them attractive, ugly, or none of these, matters not, but I do think that they are more attractive and better for the environment everywhere (including Caithness) than are the traditional means of power generation (and the not so traditional one of nuclear plants).

Not to mention that fact that oil drilling rigs and fracking equipment are not exactly attractive, nor do they leave the landscape in a very attractive state. There are a lot of wind farms in Eastern Washington, probably not quite as hotly debated.

[lovelife65]

I am also amused by the self-satisfied attitude of folks when plugging in their electric vehicles - thereby causing some coal-fired power station up North to belch more SO2 into the atmosphere or a gas turbine to send more NOx up it's exhaust stack.



Most of my photography is for the purpose of illustrating technical points, often resulting in some really bad images, so I guess that I always had an "ongoing project" ...

Well, we plug in our electric, but we do have solar on our roof, and generate more than we use.. does that help?

[lovelife65]

All of this talk about electric cars makes me appreciate this even more. BMW 440i, 300+ HP and my son. He loves driving this.

Nic car. The electric versions coming out are pretty darn amazing. What about that I8? lol

[lovelife65]

you want torque and acceleration, go electric. Electric motors, unlike internal combustion engines, have high torque at low speeds. My first experience was in a friend's Tesla S, without "ludicrous mode", and I was amazed, even though I had read the stats. But even my little Toyota is fast off the line.

I have no idea how they get the cars to test, but even one of the Model 3 types beats the 440i

BMW

Tesla

Not that I have any use for this...

Our I3 is amazingly spunky!

[LePetomane]

Well, we plug in our electric, but we do have solar on our roof, and generate more than we use.. does that help?

Sharon, does the sun ever shine in the Pacific Northwest? I understand that some states are considering surcharges on electric and hybrid vehicles to make up for the lost revenue from gasoline taxes. The BMW 440i is about as exotic of a car that I will or have ever owned. It is not the most practical car. I can't fit dog crates in it. I can't take it on roads that require high clearance. I have a Honda truck for that.

[lovelife65]

Sharon, does the sun ever shine in the Pacific Northwest? I understand that some states are considering surcharges on electric and hybrid vehicles to make up for the lost revenue from gasoline taxes. The BMW 440i is about as exotic of a car that I will or have ever owned. It is not the most practical car. I can't fit dog crates in it. I can't take it on roads that require high clearance. I have a Honda truck for that.

It's a secret that yes indeed the sun does shine here. This winter maybe a little less tho Most solar panels don't need full on sunshine. We did quite well with our system in Anacortes. Granted, the "Olympic rain shadow" means far less rain than in areas like Seattle... but.
Yes, there has been that discussion in regards to electric vehicles and gasoline taxes. I find that ridiculous, and would prefer the vehicle licensing fees be geared more toward miles driven and weight of vehicle to generate revenue if necessary.
I drove both 1 series and 2 series BMW's. Gorgeous and fun cars. But with 4 labrador retrievers, like you I found they became more garage queens than anything else. I now have an Alfa Stelvio which is much more practical. For multi dog transport, my hubby has the "labrador limo" a Lincoln Navigator (UGH the thing is HUGE). I still have my BMW G310R for fun tho (street motorcycle).

[LePetomane]

That BMW G310R sounds like fun. There is one thing that stands between me and a motorcycle. My wife. No actually I haven't ridden one in years and 65 is not a good age to take it up again.

My first BMW was a 1992 M3. That was a fast car.

[lovelife65]

That BMW G310R sounds like fun. There is one thing that stands between me and a motorcycle. My wife. No actually I haven't ridden one in years and 65 is not a good age to take it up again.

My first BMW was a 1992 M3. That was a fast car.

LOL. Never too old sir!

It's a nice lightweight bike (given i'm 120 pounds, didn't want a big bike) handles amazing, and is fast enough. I don't ride freeways so that helps. I hate freeways even in a car, no way on a small motorcycle
I had a sport bike before, and this G310 is much better. Sport bikes are way too top heavy and tight turns are no fun.

[DanK]

It's a secret that yes indeed the sun does shine here.

Well, yes, but...

When I lived in Portland Oregon years ago, I heard a joke:

What do they say in Seattle when you can see Mt. Rainier?

It's going to rain.

What do they say when you can't see Mt. Rainier?

It's raining.

But while solar is ideal where there is sunshine year round, it can be worthwhile even when there is often cloud cover. We often fall short during the winter--a combination of the short days, the indirect sunlight, the cloud cover, and snow piled on the panels, which sometimes takes a while to slide off. In the spring, we go progressively more positive and start storing up credits. Here is the bill I received today:

I understand that some states are considering surcharges on electric and hybrid vehicles to make up for the lost revenue from gasoline taxes.

Indeed. It's a problem, but that is just about the worst solution to it. It's the one that creates an incentive to bequeath more global warming to our kids and grandkids. I can't put my hands on links now, but I read quite a while ago that one of the sources of pressure to do this has been the Koch bothers' organization. There are lots of more sensible ways to do this. One is to put the tax burden on something neutral, as most countries do. Another is to raise the gas tax. Yet another is something like what Sharon suggested. MA has an excise tax on cars based on blue book value; it could instead be based on emissions.

There is one thing that stands between me and a motorcycle. My wife. No actually I haven't ridden one in years and 65 is not a good age to take it up again.

Me too. Many years ago, I had a BMW 250, which most people have never seen. It was like the traditional boxer with a driveshaft but with a single upright cylinder. Sure enough, there are photos of them on the web:



A couple of years ago, I had to buy a new snowblower, and the nearest Ariens dealer was a BMW motorcycle dealership. I had a hard time leaving without buying a bike while I was there. The modern styles didn't appeal to me; I wanted a boxer. However, I decided that buying any bike, let alone a heavy one, at age 68 would be plain stupid.

[lovelife65]

Well, yes, but...

When I lived in Portland Oregon years ago, I heard a joke:

What do they say in Seattle when you can see Mt. Rainier?

It's going to rain.

What do they say when you can't see Mt. Rainier?

It's raining.

But while solar is ideal where there is sunshine year round, it can be worthwhile even when there is often cloud cover. We often fall short during the winter--a combination of the short days, the indirect sunlight, the cloud cover, and snow piled on the panels, which sometimes takes a while to slide off. In the spring, we go progressively more positive and start storing up credits. Here is the bill I received today:





Indeed. It's a problem, but that is just about the worst solution to it. It's the one that creates an incentive to bequeath more global warming to our kids and grandkids. I can't put my hands on links now, but I read quite a while ago that one of the sources of pressure to do this has been the Koch bothers' organization. There are lots of more sensible ways to do this. One is to put the tax burden on something neutral, as most countries do. Another is to raise the gas tax. Yet another is something like what Sharon suggested. MA has an excise tax on cars based on blue book value; it could instead be based on emissions.



Me too. Many years ago, I had a BMW 250, which most people have never seen. It was like the traditional boxer with a driveshaft but with a single upright cylinder. Sure enough, there are photos of them on the web:



A couple of years ago, I had to buy a new snowblower, and the nearest Ariens dealer was a BMW motorcycle dealership. I had a hard time leaving without buying a bike while I was there. The modern styles didn't appeal to me; I wanted a boxer. However, I decided that buying any bike, let alone a heavy one, at age 68 would be plain stupid.

Dan,
we get quite a bit less rain that Portland . I think what gets to people more is not necessarily the rain (which many areas of the country get more of), it's the clouds and drizzle more often. This admittedly has been a hard winter... way more rain than average, and cold!
I usually try to get out in the woods for a hike no matter what, and with four high energy dogs I don't argue with them about it . Luckily at our rental on whidbey we also have a lot of fenced in space so they get free run time too.

Agree with you in regards to solar. Our electric bill in Anacortes was $8 a month, and we got a check every year because of net metering. We also have a very efficient home with a boiler system that heats the concrete floors and hot water. Small undercounter refrigerator and freezer. Full blown sunshine was not required, we still metered in the winter. The short days have a bigger impact. Thanks for all the good information.

My G310r is just wonderful. I get a lot of comments. Very confident on it. My biggest fear is deer. So many of them out here. Being a road cyclist (pedal kind), I'm very used to going on realizing I am invisible. I never go out unless I am 100% clear in my mind and not distracted .. One change I have made is I also wear ear plugs now.. big difference, it's amazing the wind noise! All gear all the time too. Full face helmet, leather jacket, etc. Not too many chicks ride bikes, so that's kind of fun too. Wish I had more people to ride with.

[lovelife65]

I think I belong to a totally different class of drivers; my wife and I drive an 8-year old Volvo (120,000 miles on it, so just barely broken in) and my daughter is hoping that her 11-year old Hyundai lasts a few more years...

That is the most environmentally friendly way to go. Used to keep cars a long long time so need to get back to that.

[lovelife65]

Bill's 300HP and up a hundred!



The truck has a bored-out V8 with long-stroke crankshaft and fancy heads, 400+ bhp. To further lower the gas-mileage, it has a high-ratio limited-slip differential. Known here as a "sleeper" with no external signs of all that torque. At 80 yrs old, I still enjoy laying "scratches" on the road occasionally.

To "balance" matters a little: the Jeep is a diesel, clattering along at 25-30 miles per U.S. gallon and - oh look! - solar panels ...

Used to do diesels, until they all started cheating on emissions. Europe moving away from them.. too many black buildings.

[Chataignier]

That is the most environmentally friendly way to go. Used to keep cars a long long time so need to get back to that.

I dont drive it everyday as I have another car, but my Nissan 4x4 was built in 1996 and has covered over 250k km.

[MrB]

Donald, that is a wonderful photo in Post #1. It seems to me that technology can always form the subject matter for good photography, for whatever purpose(s) the photographer might intend. A wind turbine can be viewed as a beautiful structure produced by human creativity.

The problem for me arises in the visual comparison of a wind farm and a conventional power station. To equal the power generation of the latter, the former must occupy a huge area of the Earth's surface. This might not visually matter to most people when they are built off-shore, but they are appearing on land in areas formerly of significant natural beauty. Wind farms, of whatever size, are an essential component of the green revolution. However, surely it is reasonable to expect those responsible for their construction to be much more respectful of the existing natural environment with regard to their location, and to be similarly considerate with regard to solar farms.

Philip