water and the human effect

Rice Terraces #2, Western Yunnan Province, China, 2012
Rice Terraces #2, Western Yunnan Province, China, 2012

Edward Burtynsky is no stranger to ambitious projects. The Canadian photographer has spent his entire career documenting the ways in which man transforms and redefines nature. Known primarily for large-scale photography, his previous series have covered topics including oil, mines, and recycling.  For his latest work, Burtynsky decided to focus on water. He visited 10 countries, producing a body of work that examines one of our most valuable resources. The result of over five years of work, Water investigates humanity’s complex relationship with the world’s most vital natural resource. The project includes a series of photo exhibitions, a book, and a film.
Burtynsky decided to divide the project into the ways we have diverted water, control it, farm with it, live with it, destroy it, and have nothing to do with it. Water covers a wide variety of subjects that range from pivot irrigation sites in the Southwestern US and virgin watersheds in British Columbia to dry-land farming in Spain and the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
From the artist’s statement:

“While trying to accommodate the growing needs of an expanding, and very thirsty civilization, we are reshaping the Earth in colossal ways. In this new and powerful role over the planet, we are also capable of engineering our own demise. My hope is that these pictures will stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted—until it’s gone.”

Pivot Irrigation / Suburb, South of Yuma, Arizona, 2011
Pivot Irrigation / Suburb, South of Yuma, Arizona, 2011

Colorado River Delta #8, Salinas, Baja, Mexico, 2012
Colorado River Delta #8, Salinas, Baja, Mexico, 2012

Greenhouses, Almira Peninsula, Spain, 2010
Greenhouses, Almira Peninsula, Spain, 2010

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Dryland Farming #2, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain, 2010

Xiaolangdi Dam #1, Yellow River, Henan Province, China, 2011
Xiaolangdi Dam #1, Yellow River, Henan Province, China, 2011

Thjorsá River #1, Iceland, 2012
Thjorsá River #1, Iceland, 2012

Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Baja, Mexico, 2012
Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Baja, Mexico, 2012

Dryland Farming #24, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010
Dryland Farming #24, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010

[via SHFT]

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Tom Foerstel : Founder & President

Tom Foerstel

Founder & President

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 60’s, Tom developed a strong desire to create positive change for people and planet.

He went on to pursue his passion for art and design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and worked for design firms in Southern California before moving to Boise, Idaho in the early 80’s. Foerstel Design opened its doors in 1985. Since its inception, the firm has cultivated a bold, happy, forward-looking team focussed on creating distinct and effective work on behalf of their clients.

An integral part of Tom’s philosophy is giving back to the community in which he lives — a company cornerstone that drives Foerstel’s long history of providing pro-bono services to local non-profit humanitarian and arts programs.

One of Tom’s proudest personal achievements is his ability to say Supercalifragilisticexpyalidocious backwards.