Pollution, Pollution Everywhere

For my Understanding the Image project I propose to highlight the issue of harm caused to the environment by pollution.

To emphasize this particular problem I will compare and contrast between pollution found in the countryside and pollution found in the city. I feel that this issue is very relevant today in modern society and I intend to try raising awareness about pollution so that we can appreciate and protect our environment.

I am originally from Dublin and I was born in the Coombe Hospital, which is in the middle of Dublin City. I spent my first three years of life living in Dublin with my family, but when our housing estate started to gain a bad reputation due to crime in the area, my parents decided that the time had come to leave Dublin and start afresh. It was not an easy decision for my family as we had close friends and family living in Dublin. But the desire the raise myself and my brother in a safe environment was greater than the fear of being separated from loved ones in Dublin. Our search for a new home and indeed a new lifestyle brought us to the small, rural town of Newbridge in county Kildare.

We instantly fell in love with this quiet, peaceful little town, which was a far-cry from the hustle and bustle of Dublin City. We soon relocated to Newbridge and after four years we moved deeper into the countryside to Athgarvan, a village just on the outskirts of Newbridge town. We have lived in Athgarvan for almost ten years now.

My chosen subject will focus on environmental pollution. Pollution refers to the introduction of contaminants into the local environment and these contaminants will bring about changes in the environment. Pollution has become a problem not just in towns and cities around Ireland, but also throughout the world. There are many types of pollution, and these include: air pollution, littering, noise pollution, water pollution and visual pollution.

Both Dublin and Athgarvan have a special place in my heart and yet, because these two places are so different, I think that they would make good target areas for my project which focuses on pollution. The issue of pollution greatly interests me and it is an issue that I feel urgently needs to be addressed. I plan to use photography to show-case my subject and I will take photographs that relate to pollution in my local area in Athgarvan as well as inner-city Dublin. I hope to use my own Fujifilm digital camera to take these photographs. I will commence work on my project in early November until the month of March, so that means I have four months left to complete my project.

The objective of my photographic exhibition is to address the issue of pollution in Ireland. I hope to increase people's awareness and understanding in relation to pollution and the consequences it may bring about. In order to achieve my objectives, I will carry out a number of activities such as:

• Engaging with my subject by carrying out research and also by actually going out for walks around Athgarvan and exploration trips around Dublin City. I will choose to focus on specific forms of pollution, such as water and visual pollution as well as littering.
• Recruiting willing participants which will mostly involve taking photos of my family and friends around my area and in Dublin. I plan to also capture pictures of passers-by but I will fade out or blur the faces of people so that only their silhoutte is visible.
• Planning where and what I will take photographs of.