Photographs expose parallel worlds in Navajo Nation

Photographs expose parallel worlds in Navajo Nation

Áine Ryan

POLLUTION in Page, Arizona, which is adjacent to the Indian Navajo Nation, is not what the tourism promoters might want from the focus of a photographic lens. But for award-winning Westport photographer, Michael McLaughlin, it is the contrast between the tall towers of the coal-burning Navajo Generating Station and the unspoiled beauty of the nearby Antelope canyons, a major  tourism attraction, that exposes a pictorial narrative with many contemporary connotations.
These two photographs (see above) are part of McLaughlin’s shortlisted submission to the 2014 Federation of European Photographers’ Awards. He is one of three Irish photographers to make the shortlist which includes a gallery of renowned photographers from Russia, Spain, Italy, Norway, Finland, Germany and Belgium. The other two Irish photographers are Gerry O’Leary and Enda Cavanagh in the Commercial category, while Michael McLaughlin’s photographs are in the Landscape and Wildlife category.  
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday, he said: “When I drove into Page, during a photographic trip this summer, the coal-burning towers were the first thing I saw. You would think in this day and age when you are in the desert, with all the possibilities of solar power and with so much debate about carbon emissions and climate change, that this sort of pollution would no longer be happening.”
“Then, the other images in the portfolio are of the Antelope canyons in Page. They are so important for the Navajo for tourism and attract huge volumes of people but those chimneys dominate the background,” he added.
Ironically the 2250 megawatt power-plant, which provides electrical power for people in Arizona, Nevada and California, and also helps to pump 1.5 million acre feet of water each year from the Colorado River, has permission to operate as a coal-fired plant until the end of 2044.  
The Federation of European Photographers is a network of 33 National Professional Photographers Associations from 29 European countries.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Trieste, Italy, in March.