© John Warburton-Lee/Danita Delimont Agency/drr.net
© Chad Ehlers/Stock Connection/drr.net
Picture yourself in a completely isolated environment, yet simultaneously connected to your outside world, all courtesy of your wireless tool. Being isolated AND connected is a concept that our culture finds fascinating and that DRR photographers have successfully explored, including John Warburton Lee and Chad Ehlers.
Travel photographer, John Warburton Lee’s of a desert nomad on a cell phone succinctly captures the phenomenon of being physically isolated AND connected. Conceptually speaking, this device has helped a transitory man remain in touch with the outside world. Alone? Yes. Globally connected? Yes. Certainly, this nomad is not stranded in the desert --or upon a desert island!
Commercial photographer Chad Ehlers’ images of executives using wireless communication devices in remote locales –such as desert islands-- and the vast open wilderness--seem to convey a similar message: far-off places no longer mean solitude and isolation and that wirelessness enables all of us to become 21st century global nomads (if we wish).
Interestingly enough, Ehlers’ images may also be used to assert the argument that social scientists raise --claims that the more time human beings spend online, the less they physically interact with their immediate communities. In essence, his images may also be used to assert the time spent with wireless devices, is, in itself akin to venturing to the aforementioned desert island.
Intro to a Three Part Series:
Think back a few years. Just when did the terms “landline”, “texting” and “crackberry” nudge their way into your lexicon? As wireless communication devices—laptops, cell phones, PDA’s – continue to evolve at amazing speed we quickly incorporate them into our daily routines, --all the while assessing the impact on how we communicate, work and live.
Whether you deem your wireless communication devices useful tools or distracting toys (or both) they are clearly here to stay. As we consider the influence the tools/toys have on us, DRR photographers continually aim their lenses at people “going wireless” around the world and turn up valuable images-- images that are certain to feed ongoing conversations about our relationship with these devices. Ultimately, whether you choose to endorse, comment on or criticize the wireless phenomenon, DRR photographers have crafted the visual component of your argument.
