I had my first outdoor self-taken photo shoot a few months ago. I thought I had it all figured out: take a few pictures of myself wearing different masks, stand here, pose there. When it was time to create the blog post, the main subject – the “fashion mask” –  faded in the background amidst the iconic red bridge, mountainous landscape, rushing stream, and my town’s skyline. Two words came to mind: structures and landscapes. 

Then I noticed there were distinct and overlapping concepts between the three. On one of my daily afternoon walks, it all started making more sense. As I read my first draft, a flood of ideas  came to mind. So the writer in me decided to take a deeper look – an experimental observation – and let the pictures tell their own story. 

A Rant Poem

When I think of the three topics here’s what comes to mind:

Mask

• Covers, provides protection from outside threats, partially conceals one’s identity, is man-made, comes in many shapes, forms, and textures.

Structure

• Is assembled, built, it suspends, connects, is man-made 

Landscape 

• Natural; typically a very visible prominent feature of the land, can be manipulated by  man.

Though the focus was supposed to be on the mask it ended up being more about the landscapes – they stood out more. 

What is the intersection between them?

Let the rant begin


The landscape surrounds their environment
It envelopes everything in its surroundings
It can be distinguished at any point
Structures can suspend across, within, beneath, and even reflect the landscape
It can be molded, broken down
It supports, makes way, connects landscapes
Like this bridge, it invites but it isn’t break-proof

Landscapes can be an obstacle
A structure can complement a landscape
They co-exist
Gets us to, around, or on top of landscapes
Landscapes vs human beings: natural in existence
Masks are similar to a structure, complimenting the human face
It’s style, color, and shape, it changes the face: enhances the eyes, eyebrow, nose, reshapes the face
Compliments the person

The black mask - slims the face
The blue mask - shapes the face 

A bridge creates a layer in the background
Humans can mold part of themselves
Natural landscapes can’t do this but humans  and nature can manipulate them

Mask = structure 
Bridge = structure 
Human = landscape
Mountain = landscape

Purpose of the landscape: to give a place context, landmark, distinctness
It's the foundation
Surrounds you, ever-present
The fashion mask plays a small part, the structure can’t take over the landscapes, they can’t compete
The landscape is too vast to be consumed by structure
Colors can highlight parts of us, our bodies, personality
Structures and landscapes, meshing well
Independent with great cohabitation
You can use landscape material to build a structure
Rocks from a mountain

Power

There's a level of power and significance
Landscapes will always overpower the structure
Human beings are movable; landscapes are still
Landscape photography 
Immovable
Rooted, founded, there
Unless there's erosion
I can always look to my left side and see that particular mountain
A structure can be moved 
Structures can be rebuilt
Masks are like structures, they can be disassembled, reshaped, broken down 
Mountains can be broken down, humans aren’t immortal
We are the canvas
Everything else adorns, surrounds us

Humans have more control
They're the most powerful
We can breakdown, we were called to be stewards
We don’t have control 
We can’t design a human being
We gain features from our DNA
We can’t create a mountain, or a sea
The environment can share landscapes, water, weather
Eg Pinnacles in New Zealand
The dichotomy 
Natural but has been reshaped by rain and wind

When we are born, our landscapes change as we grow, or we can make physical changes to ourselves
Structure reflecting from the landscapes, or going through the landscape
The landscapes are just there and the structure can be moved
The structure is still after it's built unless it falls
The human landscape can move and break down
If the mountain or bridge breaks  on us we wouldn't survive
But we have the power 
We have the knowledge to break and build
Fashionable colors, texture, features
Surface level understanding 
Human vs landscapes: shaped and influenced by the environment
Genes vs geology

God and landscape 
An escape 
Be still
We can’t hide behind the mask
It plays a small role in protecting us
The structure doesn’t overpower the landscape
It’s a supporting feature
The landscape has the strongest presence
It is the feature

When I compare myself to my surroundings
I'm just a small part of it
Compared to a mountain, I’m a structure, a minute detail
It’s presence can’t be denied
I can’t push it away
The mountain stands like God
I’m just a moving accessory in the presence of a landscape
A humbling idea
When we come out into nature, our thoughts are elevated to God 
To something greater than ourselves
because the landscape is bigger than us, its presence humbles us
Nature leaves such an impression on us that we photograph it, paint it, to see that memory in our mind constantly

We sing about it, write music about it
It naturally takes our thoughts elsewhere
It draws our mind to God because he created it
God creates the landscape
He set the foundation
Nature has its role too
But the foundations of the earth
The natural landscape is God’s design
The tallest trees testifies of God, it’s creator
The vastness and greatness overwhelms us
This isn't a devotional
Nature makes its own fashion statement
Undisciplined yet still has order