It is a book. Its title : Work in Progress, it is published by Fall Line Press.
It is signed : Peter Essick.
The book presents a collection of fine art drone photographs of construction sites in the Atlanta region.
Peter Essick sent us this text with his images !
A few minutes before sunrise I unload my DJI drone from the back of my car in an industrial park. I power up and check all the instrument readings on the remote control. Batteries 100 percent, fourteen satellites engaged, four bars on the wireless connection, ready to fly. I am in full pilot mode as I launch the drone and climb it to a few hundred feet.
Across the road, construction workers are standing next to a line of dump trucks and earthmovers. The site is being graded to build a huge warehouse. For the next fifteen minutes, I focus on flying over the site and photographing the work in progress.
Photography has a history of documenting everyday life. In my neighborhood in Atlanta, construction activity is an everyday occurrence. It wasn’t until I started flying a drone that I realized construction sites offered so many different visual perspectives. The textures and colors of human-altered landscapes are endlessly fascinating. Seeing and photographing this landscape from the air has opened up for me new ways of creative expression.
I find it hard to explain my deeper motives for photographing construction sites. On a personal level, I enjoy the unique challenge of capturing an ever-changing landscape. Construction sites change by the day, and the light and exposure are never the same, so there is always a sense of joy in capturing the perfect moment. Soil, wood, steel, and concrete relate to each other in infinite varieties of order and disorder. Surface reflections can create altering moods and various meanings. I enjoy capturing it all.
I am also trying to document the environmental impact of construction, land use, and suburban sprawl. Construction and development eliminate tree cover and result in loss of habitat for wildlife. More pavement heats up the city and exacerbates global warming. Sprawl is a major contributor to poor quality of life, and a sedentary lifestyle produces many detrimental health effects. All this development is happening on the traditional lands of the Muscogee people, whom the federal government forcibly removed from the region two centuries ago. Drones have been and continue to be used as weapons of war. I try to understand these issues and incorporate them into my photographic practice.
As my drone batteries run low, it is time to land. I feel a sense of accomplishment in being able to do creative work this close to home. I love the freedom to fly and the chance to share my vision of a human-altered landscape.
Peter Essick
Peter Essick : Work in Progress
Fall Line Press
Softcover
136 pages / 68 photos
Printed on 100 % recycled paper
www.FallLinePress.com
