Posted by GJC (Kyoto, Japan) on 14 April 2008 in Landscape & Rural.
This is the first in a series of three that is a departure from my usual style and subject. But I wanted to document something of the radical transformation of this once-lovely agricultural area about a 15-minute walk from my house. Until recently it was mostly elderly folks who lived and farmed in this area, but as you see it’s all being torn up, sold off and built up with new homes. I’m not so naïve or sentimental as to deny people a bright, new home or to ignore that my own home stands in what once was also a field or forest. Nevertheless, I am saddened by the loss of this area. It sits protected in the bosom of a small circle of hills, but the new homes have tumbled in and are sadly erasing the fields and the farmers that feed us.
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sounds a similar story in the UK, houses springing up everywhere. A great start to your series, looking forward to the rest...
14 Apr 2008 12:43am
The world is getting smaller... they are building on greenbelt land everywhere. You've documented this well for future reference. Hope they build something nice. Good shot.
14 Apr 2008 5:37am
We have the same problem here. The growth is just incredible. Nice shot to document the mood of the event and the news part of the event, if you know what I mean.
14 Apr 2008 6:03am
I am that naive and sentimental...I know people need housing, but one day we'll turn around and there will be no forest, no trees...Still having said that I love today's image :)
14 Apr 2008 6:24am
A good photo to document the loss of farmland. This photo encourages me in an idea I recently had to photograph a farm that is going to be turned into a huge shopping mall.
14 Apr 2008 7:12am
Good Framing and perspective.
14 Apr 2008 8:56am
A telling title, GJC ... there is very little beauty to be found in these forms and in the story you share ...
14 Apr 2008 9:50am
a successful title for the documentation you make with this image
14 Apr 2008 11:32am
One would weep about it, you do right to show the other side of the coin. I try to make lovely landscape pictures but you have to look for them, there's also a lot of rubbish around "for the sake of economy, living and working". Too often money and prestige are given priority because what has to give room cannot be expressed in money. Recently we had a TV series about our ugly industry grounds around villages and towns: what counts is prestige of local authorities and businesses, not the interest of people living there or nearby, or the scenery.
14 Apr 2008 2:38pm
Isn't that what is so called "progress"! I tend to be naive and sentimental too.
14 Apr 2008 3:21pm
what a sad story. :(
14 Apr 2008 5:32pm
Yes, always sad to see this happening. In the UK, land is so scarce that I have lived with this all my life until it feels that nothing is safe from the developer’s blade.
15 Apr 2008 7:42pm
This is a good subject for a series that evokes sadness but not necessarily a moral judgement (that would quickly implicate almost everybody). 'Beautiful' is not the word for this picture, but in the image's depth of composed, quite palbably human elements--from the rubbish in the foreground to the archway in the deep background--we have a document that is rich in detail and human contradictions.
15 Apr 2008 7:50pm
Losing the local appeal and erasing memories, that is what happens most of the time for the sake of development, nice series!
16 Apr 2008 7:06pm
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