Bradley Post – Landscape Photography

Preface: My name is Bradley Post, and I’m publishing my own images of landscapes throughout New York, where I was born, raised, and still live outside of school.

Introduction: The New York City area from Southern NJ to Upstate NY/Western CT has over 20 million people, or almost 6% of the US population. As a result, most of the land area in there is developed and many cities  and towns far outside the five boroughs struggle with congestion. However, these images encourage audiences to rethink stereotypes about the uniformly high population density of the NYC area, discover natural beauty in all areas, and find ways to protect the green spaces where they live.

Theme: These images were all taken by me within 45 minutes of my hometown in Rockland County, NY. I stress the importance of discovering the beauty of your surroundings, wherever you’re located, finding ways to be physically present with nature and practice mindfulness, even when COVID-19 is still active.

Analysis:

View of a large, blue lake
Back in early April, almost nothing was open in my town, not even the local parks, so I drove 40 minutes north to Sterling Forest in Orange County, NY. It was beneficial for my mental health to exercise outdoors, especially during the early months of COVID -19.
View of Haverstraw, NY from Hook Mountain
This is on top of Hook Mountain State Park in Rockland County, and it takes a little hike to to get there. This is 10 minutes from my house and I started going to this location in late March once NY implemented the lockdown. I started hiking since these parks were all open and I started to spend more time in nature in the following weeks and months.
Hudson River from Bear Mountain bridge
This is was captured in June when I was taking a walk on Bear Mountain Bridge from the Orange to Westchester County side. It was beautiful, around 80ºF and not humid. We should practice mindfulness, simply being present in the moment and enjoy the natural landscape of this planet, developed over hundreds of millions of years, every day, not wait until after COVID-19, after graduation, or after another event.

Application: Today, many are afraid to venture out and enjoy nature, and others do not have the funds to do so due to the economic crisis. However, these images depict that even during unstable times, one can find stability in nature, and it costs little to nothing to walk in the forest, picnic in the park, and it can be done far from others to mitigate COVID-19 risk. Since mental health issues like depression have become more prevalent in recent months, it is more crucial than ever to prioritize enjoying nature, spending time in natural areas with a close group of friends, and searching for activities close by, whether you live in a big city or small town.

 

 

 

 

 

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Health and Environmental Humanities Artistic Expression Portfolio Copyright © by The Students of HUM2020 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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