‘Terra Sacra’ is a stunning short time-lapse video by photographer/ film-maker Sean White- which depicts some of the planet’s most impressive ancient monuments, sacred sites, and cultural places.
Such locations, built and natural, have a variety of non-material meanings and uses to people- spiritual, inspirational, aesthetic, psychological. However, they all relate and depend on a common factor- the beauty of each location’s surrounding natural environment and landscapes. The sites can be seen as a physical embodiment of these cultural ecosystem benefits that society derives from the natural environment.
(Source: vimeo.com)
In the run up to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development WWF are compiling an ‘Earth Book’- a collection of photos, stories and electronic drawings uploaded by individuals to convey the things they love about nature, and want to preserve for the future (I’ve uploaded some of my own images/stories too). I’ve discussed in various posts the power of photography to convey the beauty of the environment, and furthermore the cultural ecosystem benefits of nature. A project like WWF’s Earth Book is a beautiful collection of examples and people’s stories which are evidence of this.
