ENTRY DESCRIPTION
A person is riding a bike along a road. A sudden noise distracts her, the front wheel touches the edge of the road, she loses her balance, falls, and in the next second, she feels a terrible pain in her right arm. Probably a broken bone, she thinks. What will she do next? Will she go to a medicine man who consults with ghosts inside the smoke of a fire and promises her whatever she wants to hear? Or will she go to the nearest doctor with a university degree?
Why do we behave not the same way when it comes to climate change? Why do we ignore scientists and their warnings? Why are there still politicians in charge who deny climate change? Why are we all not deeply frightened of what lies ahead?
At the end of World War II, philosopher Max Picard wrote, “nothing has changed the nature of man as much as the loss of silence.” One can disagree with this statement, but thoughts of this kind are the reason for my opinion that we need to move away from self-interest, away from a “me first” to a “global yes we can.” We can slow global warming if most people start listening to what scientists know, not what politicians, social media influencers, and others believe.
“The road to belief is short and convenient, the road to knowledge is long and rocky,” said Ernst Stuhlinger, associate director of NASA’s Space Science Lab in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1960 to 1968. The message from science is clear: we must act now. The danger is not climate change denial; the significant risk is climate change delay.
Such delay makes the world an increasingly darkening place.
AUTHOR
I am fascinated by gloomy views, by dark and heavy clouds, and by huge snow walls and snow corridors. Most of my images are created on the edge of daylight. I prefer to work during soft light because there are no locked shadows or harsh highlights. That time at the border of daylight or under a cloudy sky, has less contrast, so I like to incorporate diffused light, rain and falling snow into my work. Such conditions create the opportunity to reduce an image to gray tones and strong contrasts.
The majority of my most powerful experiences have emerged when I have been outside my comfort zone, when my wife and I are travelling on foot and only carry the bare essentials that fit in our backpacks. A mountain tour during a cloudless day is usually a beautiful event. However, the same tour during a snowstorm can be a truly unforgettable experience. How such an excursion ends depends on you have prepared for it and the ability to say “that’s enough for today” and turn back when it is necessary. Sitting in a small tent, during long days of rain when everything is wet and cold can be a boring and unpleasant experience. During such moments, I sometimes wonder why I bother doing such a thing, but when I return back home the first thing I usually do is start to plan the next short or long stay outside the comfort zone.
Such thoughts have had a strong influence on my work that has been presented in “My Work” and “Portfolio”
I live with my wife in a small town in the Emmental region of Switzerland.
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