Hand of Man in Nature, White Mountains – Last week I wrote about how some photographers believe that a true landscape or nature scene is a scene that is absent of all human elements. The scene itself showcases the pure beauty of nature. Well, the opposite of the pure nature scene is the hand of man scene, which includes human elements. Can you see the human element in the above scene?
I prefer to create images that include the hand of man only because they show the interaction we have with the environment. When some people hear the “hand of man” they think of the negative impact that we are doing to the environment. But in photography, the hand of man scene is not always focused on negative impact.
The photo above shows an example of a positive hand of man scene. Over the years, trail crews have put in hundreds of hours to build scree walls along the edge of the Franconia Ridge Trail. The purpose of these simple, but effective, walls is to keep hikers within the trail corridor. And this helps tremendously in conserving the fragile alpine environment that is on the sides of the trail.
For the above photo, I wanted to create an image that showcased the freedom and serenity the Pemigewasset Wilderness offers. It is a very simple scene, but it works. Without the hiker, there is no human element, and this would be considered a pure landscape scene. But in its pure natural state, it would not have promoted the serenity of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. When using photography to create awareness for the environment, the hand of man scene works.
You can license the above images for usage in publications by clicking on the image you are interested in. And you can view more landscape and nature scenes of the White Mountains that include the hand of man here.
Happy image making..
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Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC
Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.
ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.