Uncomfortable Beauty

Theo Bosboom

Theo Bosboom is a passionate photographer from the Netherlands, specialising in nature and landscapes. In 2013, he turned his back on a successful legal career to pursue his dream of being a fulltime professional photographer. He is regarded as a creative photographer with a strong eye for detail and composition and always trying to find fresh perspectives.

theobosboom.nl

In recent years, the effects of climate change have become increasingly visible and noticeable. Almost daily news reports appear about extreme rainfall, floods, forest fires, temperature records, the disappearance of species and so on. It is now clear that the climate crisis is not just going to happen in the future but that we are already in the middle of it. Also, the effects are no longer limited to the polar regions and glaciers and small islands in distant oceans; virtually every country is already affected to a greater or lesser extent. My own country, the Netherlands, had a wake-up call in the summer of 2021. Just like its neighbours Germany and Belgium, it was ravaged by extreme rainfall and heavy flooding. Whereas in Germany and Belgium, there were fatalities, in the Netherlands, there was mainly enormous material damage.

I had been asking myself for some time how, as a landscape photographer, I could portray climate change in my own country. The conclusion was always that this was difficult because the effects were not yet visible. Admittedly, measures have been taken for some time to make the Netherlands safer, for instance, by raising river dykes and giving rivers more room to flood. Still, these measures mainly involve infrastructural works, and I don't find them particularly attractive to portray as a photographer.

A group of flowers (scentless camomile) in the flowing water, photographed from the shore.

So when the first reports trickled in about the severe flooding in the southern province of Limburg, I was immediately alert. This was real; now it was getting very close all of a sudden. The river Maas had burst its banks in several places, and the village of Valkenburg, in particular, had been devastated. Many streets had been flooded, and numerous houses, shops and hotels had suffered major water damage. I briefly considered travelling to the hard-hit region to photograph the flood disaster. In the end, I refrained from doing so. I realised I had no press pass and was also afraid I would get in the way of the relief efforts.