River Paintings

A hike up a stream can yield so much in the way of memorable scenes. Like little paintings scattered about the streambed they decorate the waters and bring life and beauty to all who encounter them. I recently read a book called A Sand County Almanac written by the great American conservationist, Aldo Leopold. Leopold’s words very eloquently describe what we can see on a hike up stream.

"I know a painting so evanescent that it is seldom viewed at all, except by some wandering deer. It is a river who wields the brush, and it is the same river who, before I can bring my friends to view his work, erases it forever from the human view. After that it exists only in my mind's eye". - Aldo Leopold

These black and white photographs show natural landscapes of the upper Te Mata Stream. Having thought about it, I do wonder how natural these places are. What cultural activities of man have influenced natures dynamic system and resulted in anomalies hard to see - the unnatural turn of a leaf, a discordant braid of a stream, the differing orientation of a sand spit, a precarious positioning of a rock, an undercutting of the river bank, or a pile of debris where one would not normally have been. But does it really matter. After all, mankind is a fundamental part of the landscape, created to live and exist within the confines of an ecosystem. Man, like the bee, is also nature. Does the bee think about due care of the environment, or does she just go about her work. What is different about man that he thinks he ought to care for the environment?

The complete portfolio for this work can be see here: River Paintings.