BILL LONG

When I was almost 5 years old I was informed that we lived on a planet called earth.  Earth was floating in space, supported only the gravity that held us to our closest star, the sun.  The sun I was told was the closest of the thousands of stars that I could see contrasted against the blackness of space on clear nights.  I tried to picture our planet floating in the blackness of space orbiting the sun, and it seemed unlikely. The earth seemed still and vast. The sun appeared to rise and set, and the ground below us did not seem to move. I was not convinced. 

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The world I had known seemed still, safe, and solid under my feet. The idea that we lived on a planet floating in space made me feel vulnerable, and did not seem consistent with what I saw with my own eyes.   If we did live on a planet it seemed that I would have been informed of this significant fact earlier in my life by my parents, books, or television.

 

It was during this search for answers that our family visited the beach, and I saw the ocean for the first time. Seeing the waves, and horizon in the distance, somehow gave me a sense of perspective that helped me begin to visualize, and accept the mystery and beauty of living on a planet.

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The photographs shown on this website are from a series called Earth, Water, Air.  Each photograph in the series is a composite of three separate images: seascapes, stars, and the first image of the entire earth from space (courtesy of NASA).  The earth, water and air all help sustain life on this planet and at present are all threatened due to human activity and climate change. 

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The photographs included in this series attempt to communicate the vulnerability, and celebrate the mystery of living on planet Earth, and the importance of protecting the systems that sustain us.

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One might question the use of an image taken by NASA to be included in artwork. The current impact of human activity, and the potential impact of climate change are such that I would question those who do not consider the earth in the creation of art, commercial enterprise, or scientific endeavor.