The downtown Jersey City area is booming and natural landscapes are becoming harder and harder to find. Tall skyscrapers, office buildings, and coops are popping up all around us, along with the infrastructure that must accommodate our growing population.
Searching for Natural Landscapes is composed of photographs taken in four different locations: Mill Creek by the Jersey City Marina, two different spots under the New Jersey Turnpike Extension (Exit 14c), and the area behind Harismus Cemetery. Having lived many years in a small village on the northern coast of Israel, my need to go out in search of quiet intimate spaces for solitude and reflection were becoming more and more vital for my sanity and healthy living. Leaving the paved streets and sidewalks was the only way to find these sacred spots. While photographing, I was especially taken by Mother Nature and her ability to encompass and engulf the old and unused railroad tracks, tunnels, and bridges, turning these areas once more into sacred spaces.
— Leona Strassberg Steiner, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
