Photography & the Environment

For a photograph to be influential it must be appealing to the eye? Right? Sometimes this just simply cannot be the case. What makes a successful photograph for me personally is not how well put together it is, nor how beautiful the subject is, but rather how well it portrays its final message.

An image like this one below for example is very beautiful and extravagant, but there is no underlying message, besides a relaxing and very tempting holiday.

http://jonathanpang.files.wordpress.com

/2008/10/esperance-beach.jpg

This image below is slowly getting the point. It combines both the skill of a good photographer to make it look appealing, yet there is this amazing message about drought and its impact not only on nature but on humans as well. Everyone struggles when there is a drought.

http://www.picturecorrect.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/landscape-preparation2.jpg

I guess in the end though, it does come down to what the context is. The first image could be being used to advertise how beautiful the beach is and how much locals do not want to loose it to pollution. Who knows. With photography and art, it is the creator who has a vision and there should be no room for judgement except the willingness to understand, interpret, and cause action.