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"One Small Step for Man..."

© Michael S. Lazarus

"One Small Step for Man..."

Uploaded: April 20, 2008

Description

A Sunday morning on Miami's South Beach is an incredible place to be for a photographer. Some of the most beautiful creatures and the environment they live in are on display in glorious light and then...................
there's man's contribution to it.

Exif: F Number: 5.6, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/2000 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 400, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 170.00 mm, Model: NIKON D40

Comments

Eivor Kuchta April 21, 2008

A very sad sight, indeed! Too bad it's not very unusual either. Makes me wonder what's wrong with humankind, can't we appreciate the beauty of our world enough to take care of it better? You can just hope a picture like this works as a reminder for some people. Great capture, Michael! Beautiful light, even if it's reflecting in trash. #905394

isabel C. Zepeda level-classic April 21, 2008

Michael.

To sad to comment, I hate how people dont take there trash.
Ysa... #5821945

Melissa G. Meiselman April 22, 2008

Fantastic lighting and great display of the refuse left by the Earth's most populous inhabitants, Michael!! #5824518

Aimee C. Eisaman April 23, 2008

I'm very big on people not doing this and the other day I was fumeing after watching someone throw their trash out their car window. As I was thinking of what I would say to them if I could I thought of a wonderful idea! Wouldn't it be great if you could find these people and have a garbage truck just unload in their front yard? LOL! That thought made me feel better at least! Thanks for sharing this photo....I hope it reaches people that don't even think about what happens when they toss something into nature. Infact for those that live in my area of PA and throw things out their window on Rt. 30....it ends up lining my drive way and coving the hillside. When cleaning it one spring I even found computer parts, underwear, lots of glass, and plastic......the runoff goes into my valley of lakes where I live and I"m sure into my water table of my well! Sorry...this just gets me going! :-) Great shot Micheal! #5831845

Joan E. Hoffman April 23, 2008

I lived in Yellowknife, NWT for 5 years. The NWT at that time was 1/3rd of all of Canada's land space... so that would roughly be somewhat less than 1/2 of the USA's land (including Alaska and Hawaii etc). And approximately (in 1995 when we left) 40,000 people lived in ALL that space. It never failed to amaze me... that you could drive to the "END" of the road... and I mean end, and hike for miles, and still find what my husband termed as "wild" beer bottles, cigarette butts plastic bags etc. While admittedly no where near what we found in populated southern Canada and the States... but nevertheless still there.

Small points of interest... somewhere around 90 odd percent of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border.... so out of roughly 33 million of us... that leaves a heck of a lot of unpopulated land. Secondly.... and this I find quite interesting, more than 1/2 of the US states have points further north than Canada's most southern border. My lesson of not well known facts for the day LOL #5831905

Joan E. Hoffman April 23, 2008

Oh... and no that my lecture for the day is over. This is a wonderful photograph Michael. Send it to Al Gore! We need to wake up... not as nations... but as inhabitants of a planet and make things change. Too many do not care, but as their loved ones start dying from the mess we have made ... maybe we will... #5831926

M.Christine Duncan April 23, 2008

Safe to say that maybe this will hit a nerve in a good way!!! Great topic to capture Michael! Walking my crazy border collie/black lab everyday in the city is a constant reminder of how careless people are... at least once a week she attempts to eat the junk laying around and we don't have to walk far before I'm frustrated and irked at all the trash, many times a trash bin isn't even a foot away! #5831930

Kathy L. Clark April 24, 2008

You know Michael it does make the heart sad. Here it is called Alabama the Beautiful, but it's more like a pig sty most places. I'm from Alaska where we took pride in keeping it clean, here they just chuck everything out the window of their cars. It's a real grief. #5836881

Laura E. Swan level-classic April 25, 2008

SO POWERFUL. This shot says it all. So did your remarks. This should be on a BILL BOARD near EVERY beach with your caption under it. I'm SERIOUS! #5840908

Laura E. Swan level-classic April 25, 2008

And I would like to say this too, if it effected each and everyone who has commented on this so far with such passion, then you really need to take this shot (and your words) higher Micheal. I was being far too limited when I said EVERY BEACH. This should be a billboard seen everywhere. I hope you win if you entered this. Truly. I identify totally with Aimee too. The trash left behind...At our old house one young couple had their Anniversary under our trees every year. Once they left underwear, too! THEY ALWAYS leave champagne bottles and gift boxes and wrap,etc...Once my lawn mower got wrecked because someone had thrown wire onto our lawn and I did see it. We don't smoke but we sure have cigarette butts (and cans and bottles) all over. Some one leaves their ~almost empty~ coffee cup sitting UPWARDS on our lawn here at the new house all the time. Almost like a little private joke he has going for himself. It's hard not to get angry! Living near the bus stop doesn't help either, I guess. YES. AL GORE NEEDS THIS ON HIS DESK! REALLY! #5840954

Michael S. Lazarus April 26, 2008

Thank you Eivor, Isabel, Melissa, Aimee, Joan, Christine, Kathy and Laura for your comments on this image statement of mine. Though the rational/analytical side of me knows we are fighting a loosing battle against man's "progress," the emotional/creative side of me will never allow me to just accept this despicable behavior and rage in quiet solitude. I was born and raised in South Florida and knew this area before it was trashed. To see the bottom of the bays and ocean and the mangroves covered with every kind of human waste imaginable is nothing short of a public rapping of our planet. Though our justice system turns it head on this these minor infractions, nature's patience with us will expire and there will be no "day in court" for mankind............ only a merciless punishment. #5843705

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