To conclude photography month here in Toronto, TVO aired a documentary on Edward Burtinsky and his tales on what he encountered as he captured the world with a different perspective. His notion of manufactured landscape deals with how we as human beings live in a life that we have literally manufactured. With ever growing cities, our land is constantly transforming into urban manufacturing industries.

The sheer scale that Ed was able to capture is jaw-droppingly astounding. Taking photos in such places such as a Chinese manufacturing plant, quarries, and even a ship wrecking port in Bangladesh, we are guided by photos of mass labourers working.

Ed’s commentary throughout the documentary tell us what he was trying to achieve with his photos. Not merely telling us that what we are doing is wrong, he was out to simply show us what we are, and what we are doing, with our landscapes. Take it as you will.

If you have a chance, take a look at some of his photos in his Manufactured Landscape series. It likely doesn’t do justice to being there in person, but if you look with the notion that this is what we are doing to our land, it gives a whole new perspective on what we are doing with it.