Julia Geysen PhotoVoice “Nature in New York”
Nature in New York
My participant is my sixteen year old sister, Annika Geysen who currently lives in Warwick, New York.
This photo was taken by sixteen year old Annika Geysen on her way to school in Warwick, New York.
“I was running late to school on a cold October morning, and saw this rainbow in the sky. I love rainbows, as they symbolize the end of a storm and love how all of the colors flow into one another so beautifully. I’ve only seen a few rainbows in my life, so capturing a picture of this one was definitely a priority. Taking this picture probably made me even more late to school, but was definitely worth it.” -Annika
Annika shared how taking this picture was important to her, even as she was already late to school. She found the rainbow fascinating, as it was a rare sight to her. She pointed out how rainbows appear after storms end which demonstrates her optimism towards life, as there will always be something positive after something bad happens. It also shows her enthusiasm for nature as each color combines to create an appealing image through light from the sun being refracted.
This photo was taken by sixteen year old Annika Geysen on her family’s boat in Greenwood Lake, New York.
“I was out on the boat with my cousins and my parents all day on one of the last days of summer, and saw this full moon right before we started to head in. The sky was clear and the light from the moon made a reflection on the water. We normally do not stay out on the lake at night, but the light from the moon made us able to see more clearly, and successfully dock our boat.” -Annika
Annika shared how this picture was taken after a long day spent on her family’s boat having fun with her cousins and parents. The full moon lit up the sky for them to continue driving around and having fun at night, which was a perfect way to end the summer. She enjoyed spending time on the lake, and found the reflection of the moon on the water appealing. This shows Annika’s interest in nature, as she spent the entire day in the lake and noticed how the light of the full moon helped them see better at night.
This photo was taken by sixteen year old Annika Geysen in September after driving home from the gym.
“I was driving home from the gym and noticed my new neighbors planted these trees along the edge of their lawn, and wanted to show this to my mom as an idea for our landscaping. A new family had moved into this house a few weeks ago and made a few changes to the house and the landscaping around it. I was confused when I saw these trees here, as I had driven by this house my whole life and always just saw an open yard. I was interested to see if my new neighbors would add more trees, or only add these three.”- Annika
Annika shared how this picture was taken because she saw that her new neighbors had planted trees in front of their house, and how they had been changing the previous owner’s landscaping. The trees were planted on the bottom of the family’s property most likely for privacy and decoration. This photo shows the trees right before they were going to start changing color due to the weather in New York, which usually occurs late september. This demonstrates her attention to detail, as she noticed they had added these trees in front of their house, and shows her interest in landscaping and nature as she intended to show this picture as an idea for her family’s house.
Analysis
By providing all of these images, Annika shows a repetitive interest in nature in general, in both the power and beauty of it. In the image of the rainbow, she expressed how the colors came together to create a beautiful image, and also explained how rainbows appear after a storm which symbolizes the power of nature. In the image of the moon over the lake, she states how the reflection created an appealing image and how the full moon itself was also stunning. The moon also represented power in nature, as it provided the lake with light in the night to allow Annika’s family to continue to drive the boat at night while being able to see clearly. The picture of the trees Annika’s neighbor planted demonstrates beauty in nature as they planted them as part of a landscaping plan, which is done to make a property look more appealing. It represents power in nature as the trees also provide privacy to the house, as they provide coverage to the house and yard. Nature is a very beautiful and powerful component of Earth, but is also taken for granted. There are many problems worldwide with destroying elements of nature such as deforestation. Deforestation is a huge problem where areas of nature are cleared to allow for more man made structures to be built. In the article “Deforestation in Latin America”, Professor Dr. Michele Graziano Ceddia discusses how deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. When humans remove large portions of forests, such as that in Latin America, it damages the ecosystem. This is an ongoing problem that has been occurring for many years, and needs to have more policies implemented to form a resolution. With deforestation and climate change our ecosystem will function very differently, and both the beauty and power of nature will be alternated. If these issues continue to transpire, the aspects of nature which Annika captured in her images will be nonexistent.
