Welcome to Weekly Challenge #340 Humanity's Negative Impact on Earth.



Note that some of the images posted are quite brutal. Also (thanks noelcmn) note that I've spelt the title wrong, I of course mean humankind not the academic subjects!

In general we try and take photos that are aesthetically pleasing, to our own eye at least. I'd like to see shots that are perhaps not beautiful in the traditional sense but demonstrate the negative impact of humanity on our home.


I have linked through to an example of my own (https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/12-post-your-photos/312798-nature-bird-vs-man.html)


A few sentences to put the photo in context would be good as well.


Good luck to all, bring the beautiful ugly on!

The fine print:
Every week, a new theme is picked and judged by the winner of the previous week.
The Challenge will run until midnight February 6th, 2016, whichever time zone you are in.
Rules
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose one of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus an additional day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax (or Samsung DSLR) camera (film or digital) can be used.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.
9. In case the winner of a challenge is unable to become the judge for the next challenge, they will PM the #2 winner for that person to be the judge.

[Bruce Clark]

Not a common theme for me, preferring as I do to focus on the nicer aspects of the planet. As soon as I saw the theme for this weeks contest I knew I had only this image to go to. The remains of someone's pride and joy lying in the bottom of creek near home. A popular dumping spot for stolen cars. Theft, waste, pollution. Nothing at all positive going on here.

[cmeier]

On standby in the event that other photos are toxic.

Local FD/PD open house last October. K-30, 24mm, f/5, 1/200 sec, ISO-200.

[tessfully]

I live in a place that does not recycle. All food garbage, cans, bottles and paper etc. are landfilled. The township only separates out the metals to sell. It was the hardest thing to get used to after moving from a city that recycled everything including household compost.

However, the dump is an interesting place to visit and can offer a study (and photo opportunities) of human and animal behaviours. It sits on right on the doorstep of the Algonquin wilderness of over 7500 square kilometres. The dump is half way up a massive ridge and a view to the south is of hills, valleys and trees. The ridge gives rise behind this pile of garbage to another vista, and a view of wilderness as far as the eye can see in all directions. Wildlife such as vultures, gulls, hawks, eagles, weasels, martins, wolves and bears are frequent visitors to the dump.

I think the bears are impacted the worst as they become habituated to people and their garbage, and then are killed by hunters who set up bear baits and sit in tree stands. To be frank, it makes me sick when I am exploring the bush and I come across one of these scenes. I know the local outfitter killed 5 bears this fall right in this area. (I might change this photo before the end of the contest. I have several to choose from but on another computer.)

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Last edited by tessfully; 02-01-2016 at 12:39 PM.

[Tamia]

This is a very important subject and I'm glad you chose it for the theme for this week's Weekly Challenge, Superduper. My photo is distasteful, makes me sick whenever I think of the circumstances under which I found the scene, but I think it's worth posting anyway. While hiking in a favorite place, I smelled it before I saw the large pile of butchered animal pieces. They were fresh and piled high, bits of wild geese, beaver, muskrat, whitetail deer, and turkeys, and probably other animals. They'd been dumped all at once from the back of a trailer, probably, hauled by an ATV, on public land, just inside the woods. It's gruesome enough as is, though scavenging animals welcomed the bounty, but to make it a particular example for this contest is that the animals whose parts are here were killed well outside legal hunting season.

[SpecialK]

Part of old Route 66 (El Cajon Blvd).

[superduper]

Great shots everyone, I can see I'm going to have some challenges judging on Saturday. Please keep the images coming.

[Hattifnatt]

Smoke, trees and some crows.

[RollsUp]

Barrel in the Bering Sea. One of the many things that are floating around in our oceans.

[UncleVanya]

Barrel in the Bering Sea. One of the many things that are floating around in our oceans.

This photo shows impact and great artistry. The reflection in particular adds a lot. Some other photos have also been good artistically and communicated the theme but this one stood out to me.

[Bruce Clark]

This photo shows impact and great artistry. The reflection in particular adds a lot. Some other photos have also been good artistically and communicated the theme but this one stood out to me.

+1 on this comment.

[K David]

Oil sheen on a public park creek

[fg-one]

One in a lighter but still litter mood…

[noelcmn]

Double Whammy for this poor Juvenile Black Sparrowhawk (though it could also be a Juvenile African Goshawk- the usual difficulty of identifying Juvenile Raptors) - firstly injured in a car accident, both legs damaged badly. Held here by some young people that found it, and when I spoke to them about what happens next, they had no clue! And there was no rehab center in the holiday coastal town where this was taken. Or a Vet for that matter. And I did wonder if it would not be in the best interests of the bird to just put it down. Those legs are badly damaged. Still I hoped that something could be done, as has been done on several other occasions, even if it meant the bird would be dependent on humans to be fed for the rest of its life. Such a beautiful bird, seemed a pity to lose it. Anyway, I was thankful that it was out of my hands on this occasion. But I still keep wondering!

[JensE]

Open pit coal mine. Not my best shot, but the best using a Pentax camera. The primary source of energy for decades, vast areas have been deserted to the degree that you can't set foot on the soft residual deposits. Fertile soil, forests, rolling hills, fields, villages - all gone. Some of the former holes are lakes now, most of them fighting with acidic wash-out of the lose deposits. And end to coal mining is coming up on the horizon with renewable energy, but we're by far not there yet.