Attempting to fly a drone in an urban jungle like Atlanta can quickly morph from a thrilling experiment into an exasperating lesson in patience. That’s precisely how it started for me. I had envisioned awe-inspiring aerial panoramas, dramatic architectural angles, and cinematic skyline sweeps. But those aspirations were quickly humbled by gusty wind tunnels between skyscrapers, GPS glitches, and neighborhood no-fly zones. After a few close calls and jittery landings, I couldn’t help but wonder: was I just reinventing Google Earth?
Meanwhile, Peter Essick saw something I didn’t. In the very environment I found creatively stifling, he discovered visual poetry. His latest visual project, Work in Progress, is a masterstroke in reimagining the urban development narrative through drone visuals. Spanning four years and covering a diverse range of construction sites across the Atlanta metropolitan area, Essick’s project elevates everyday construction into compelling abstract compositions. Instead of focusing on completed structures or sleek architecture, he captures the ephemeral stages of development—where soil, steel, and shadow collide.
From Treetops to Trenches: The Origin of an Unlikely Visual Project
Peter Essick’s immersion into aerial storytelling didn’t begin in the shadows of cranes or the roar of bulldozers—it began under a canopy of leaves. The Fernbank Forest, one of the few remaining old-growth forests within Atlanta, served as the genesis of this unexpected creative detour. Tasked with capturing the nuanced ecology of this historic site, Essick found himself confronting visual limitations from the ground. So he took to the skies, using a drone to see the forest in ways inaccessible by foot or even ladder.
Hovering above the treetops, he was able to witness centuries-old hardwoods standing in silence, weaving a tapestry of biodiversity. But surprisingly, it wasn’t the grandeur of nature that redirected his artistic compass. It was the routine, almost mundane commute to the forest that reshaped his trajectory. Along those suburban roads—lined with freshly bulldozed plots, skeletal steel frames, and swaths of exposed earth—Essick began to notice another kind of transformation taking place: the built environment in its rawest, most formative stages.
To the casual observer, these development zones were little more than visual noise—messy, practical, devoid of appeal. But for someone with a trained eye and a hovering drone, they revealed latent complexity. Once viewed from above, the chaos became choreography. Earth-moving machines left sinuous trails in the dirt, rebar and foundations sketched out blueprints of what was to come, and pools of rainwater reflected construction cranes like temporary mirrors. What was once overlooked became captivating. What seemed brutal became delicate. Essick discovered a language written in soil and scaffolding, and he committed himself to decoding it one image at a time.
Elevated Perspectives: Rethinking the Visual Vocabulary of the City
For Essick, the drone was never just a gadget—it became an extension of sight, a prosthetic for perception. Unlike traditional tools that confine one to street level, a drone liberates the visual field. It shifts the photographer from participant to observer, enabling a detached yet comprehensive view of evolving urban terrain. This aerial vantage doesn’t merely offer elevation; it unlocks patterns invisible from the ground, revealing how human development overlays the natural world with intention, symmetry, and—often—conflict.
From this height, one begins to see the city not as a sprawl, but as a web—interconnected systems of roads, buildings, vegetation, and voids. Construction sites transform into evolving topographies, each with a pulse of its own. Foundations echo geometry lessons. Trenches mimic tributaries. Stacked materials resemble minimalist installations. These aren’t just snapshots of urban growth—they’re metaphors for how we occupy and reshape the Earth.
What drones reveal is not simply the act of building, but the psychology of development. They show where we prioritize density, where we sacrifice greenery, and where utility overtakes aesthetics. By repositioning our gaze, Essick invites viewers to think more deeply about their spatial footprint and their complicity in the story that the land is telling.
The Quiet Urgency of Environmental Transformation
While Essick’s images are visually eloquent, they speak in hushed tones about urgency. The transformation of land—often romanticized as progress—leaves behind a complex residue. Asphalt covers ecosystems. Tree canopies vanish beneath excavators. Microhabitats are traded for convenience and connectivity. His drone doesn’t indict, but it illuminates. It captures that in-between moment when the Earth is no longer what it was, but not yet what it’s becoming.
Essick approaches this tension not with condemnation, but with curiosity. His goal isn’t to cast judgment, but to create awareness. The viewer is left to ask: what was here before this slab of concrete, this steel girder, this planned development? By focusing on transitional spaces, he highlights the temporal fragility of land-use decisions. Nothing is static. Every site he documents is a place in flux—a testament to ambition and a record of erasure.
The artistic framing of these changes compels reflection. A viewer may marvel at the precision of an excavation site while simultaneously considering the irreversible effects of such development. It’s a dual awareness that Essick encourages: seeing the elegance in construction while acknowledging the ecological price tag it often carries.
Charting Unseen Histories in Developed Terrain
Beneath the foundations of new housing complexes and industrial parks lie layers of history that modern development rarely acknowledges. The Atlanta region, where Essick's work is centered, rests upon land historically inhabited and cultivated by the Muscogee (Creek) people. These ancestral connections are often lost in the speed of expansion. Yet for Essick, this historical amnesia is unacceptable.
He insists that any meaningful exploration of land use must begin with cultural recognition. His imagery subtly gestures to the stories buried beneath concrete slabs and parking lots. The implication is clear: every plot of land bears witness to more than one timeline. The construction of the present is layered over the dispossession of the past.
Essick doesn’t insert this context forcibly into his work, but it lingers like an echo. In capturing modern development, he honors what preceded it. In showcasing what’s being constructed, he’s also hinting at what has been forgotten. This historical layering adds a moral and narrative depth to his visuals, reminding us that place is not merely geography—it’s memory, lineage, and consequence.
Crafting Abstract Narratives Through Raw Landscapes
One of the most remarkable qualities of Essick’s project is its aesthetic divergence from traditional urban documentation. His compositions are not linear or illustrative; they lean toward abstraction. Lines, textures, shadows, and gradients take precedence over literal interpretations. The viewer might, at first, mistake an image for a painting or a digital rendering. Only upon closer inspection do the bulldozers, steel rods, and unfinished beams reveal themselves.
This painterly abstraction is not accidental—it’s intentional. Essick uses drone vantage points to reframe the gritty mechanics of construction as meditative visual experiences. His ability to extract elegance from excavation, to make harmony from heavy machinery, underscores his unique vision. Even mud, under the right light and from the right height, can become a palette of bronze, ochre, and slate.
By presenting these transitional landscapes through an artistic lens, Essick invites viewers to pause. To engage not just intellectually, but emotionally. These images aren't just chronicles of growth; they are visual poems about the act of making and the cost of making.
Resilience in Repetition: Capturing the Pandemic Era of Progress
The global pandemic brought much of the world to a standstill. Streets emptied, skies cleared, and cities fell silent. Yet construction sites, categorized as essential, kept buzzing. For Essick, this period became an unlikely window of opportunity. With reduced traffic and quieter skies, he was able to access locations more freely, documenting projects that were moving forward despite the larger societal pause.
One site in particular—a sprawling development featuring residential units, retail facilities, and a driving range—became a focal point. He returned multiple times over many months, witnessing its incremental transformation. These repeated visits turned a static location into a dynamic storyline. Frames captured in spring bore little resemblance to those taken in late summer. The site itself became a character, evolving through seasons, reshaped by cranes and weather alike.
This period of solitude allowed for deeper reflection. While many were confined indoors, Essick found solace and continuity in documenting the outdoors. His work during this time serves as a chronicle not just of construction, but of resilience—the human drive to keep building, even when the world seems uncertain.
Visualizing Tomorrow: Technology, Intention, and the Future of Land Use
With each advancement in drone technology, Essick’s capacity to tell nuanced, layered stories grows. His latest drone offers sharper imaging, longer flight times, and more sophisticated obstacle detection, allowing him to focus less on piloting and more on storytelling. Yet what sets Essick apart is not the sophistication of his equipment—it’s the depth of his purpose.
As urbanization accelerates and climate concerns intensify, Essick remains committed to using his skills to highlight the delicate balance between development and preservation. Future projects may include coastal zones threatened by rising seas, deforested corridors carved out for new infrastructure, or renewable energy sites nestled into former farmland.
His aim is not to passively document but to participate in a larger dialogue about sustainability and responsibility. His images act as catalysts, urging us to ask how we build, where we build, and most importantly—why we build.
Sculpting the Landscape: The Unexpected Beauty of Construction Zones
It’s easy to dismiss construction sites as chaotic, utilitarian spaces—temporary scars on the land awaiting their final purpose. But Peter Essick’s body of work challenges this perception with striking clarity. He demonstrates that there is a rare kind of artistry in the fleeting stages of development, where structure meets soil, and precision collides with unpredictability. These transitional moments—so often overlooked—are where Essick finds visual resonance.
Every visit to a construction site begins with elevation. As he launches his drone skyward, he surveys the terrain like a composer scanning a blank musical sheet. At these altitudes, scale flattens, details emerge, and chaos begins to resemble order. His lens seeks out alignment—not just in the linear sense of roads or rebar, but in visual balance. The rhythm of tire treads across wet ground, the interplay of shadows on half-laid concrete, the curvature of grading patterns etched into Georgia’s red clay—these become brushstrokes on a vast terrestrial canvas.
Essick's artistry lies in his ability to see a construction zone as more than a work site. It is, in his eyes, a living palimpsest—layer upon layer of human intention and natural resistance. He captures moments before transformation finalizes, before the raw ground is concealed beneath polished facades or manicured lawns. In doing so, he immortalizes the terrain in its most honest form: exposed, evolving, and unpredictable.
Visual Poetry in Progress: Abstract Beauty in Unfinished Places
Construction sites often evoke noise, dust, and disruption, but through Essick’s lens, they become quiet studies in form and temporality. There is an abstract elegance to these spaces—a stark beauty that emerges from tension, contrast, and the unfinished. Instead of waiting for completion to define his subject, Essick focuses on the interim, when meaning is still fluid and aesthetics are unintended.
He captures fleeting configurations: pools of water trapped in excavated footprints reflecting the sky, skeletal frameworks casting elongated shadows across fresh gravel, and symmetry born from necessity rather than design. These visual juxtapositions turn concrete into contour and scaffolding into sculpture. In some images, it's unclear whether you're looking at a development site or a conceptual artwork rendered in earth tones and steel.
This ambiguity is part of the allure. The rawness invites interpretation. What is functional becomes philosophical. Essick allows us to read meaning into material—a trench is not just a trench, but a boundary in flux. A grid of steel rods is not just structural support, but a metaphor for imposed order on a pliant world.
These accidental aesthetics speak to a broader truth: beauty does not always require intention. Sometimes, it simply needs elevation—both literal and perceptual.
The Dual Nature of Human Development
At the heart of Essick’s project is a paradox: progress and preservation are often at odds. Construction, by definition, is an assertion of control over landscape. It is civilization’s way of inscribing permanence onto a constantly shifting planet. Yet, through his carefully composed visuals, Essick doesn't condemn this process outright. Instead, he presents it as a complex negotiation between necessity and consequence.
The photographs suggest that there is dignity in the act of building, even as they acknowledge what is sacrificed. Grading patterns, while beautiful from above, are also the erasure of microhabitats. Fresh cement pathways signify community expansion, but they replace soil that once absorbed rainfall and hosted vegetation. These tensions form the invisible narrative thread that runs through Essick’s work.
Rather than provide answers, he offers inquiries. Can construction be sustainable without sterilizing the land? Can design integrate the memory of what was rather than obliterate it? By raising these questions visually instead of verbally, Essick transforms the viewer into a participant in the dialogue rather than a passive observer.
Land as Archive: Reading the Earth’s Revisions
Every construction site is a text being rewritten. Beneath the machinery and material lies an older story—one that Essick never allows us to forget. Much of Atlanta’s urban expansion unfolds on ground once inhabited by the Muscogee people, layered with centuries of botanical richness, cultural presence, and ecological harmony. These deep-time narratives are often buried—both literally and metaphorically—under asphalt and ambition.
Essick’s aerial perspective reclaims some of that lost narrative. By exposing the land mid-conversion, he creates a visual echo of what once was. Scarred soil, exposed tree roots, and uneven contours hint at past terrains and indigenous stewardship. His compositions, though focused on contemporary development, are haunted by history.
He invites viewers to think of land not merely as surface but as strata—each layer marked by human decision and consequence. While modern development often flattens this complexity in pursuit of progress, Essick insists on its restoration through visual memory.
In this sense, his work is archival. Not of the built environment per se, but of the environment being rebuilt—of land that remembers, even if we forget.
Unscripted Narratives During Uncertain Times
One of the most powerful dimensions of Work in Progress emerged during a period of global pause. The COVID-19 pandemic rendered many industries inert, yet construction—classified as essential—persisted. While urban centers slowed, the skeletons of future buildings continued to rise, cranes turning above empty roads and masked crews laboring under uncertain skies.
Essick chronicled this paradox with subtlety. His images from this era are imbued with a stillness that belies the movement below. They are not simply records of construction, but portraits of resilience. In capturing these evolving sites during a global standstill, he layered his visuals with a sense of time’s elasticity.
The juxtaposition of continuity and crisis deepens the emotional resonance of the series. A nearly completed structure surrounded by untouched ground evokes the feeling of anticipation—of momentum suspended. In these moments, the act of building becomes symbolic not just of infrastructure, but of human hope, adaptability, and endurance.
These temporal fractures mark the images with added gravity. They remind us that while structures rise steadily, the context in which they do is anything but constant.
Earthworks as Expression: Rethinking Utility
What distinguishes Essick’s approach is his unwavering belief that function and form are not mutually exclusive. In his compositions, utility is not stripped of meaning—it is infused with it. Trenches are not merely preparatory voids; they are evidence of direction. Concrete slabs are not void of personality; they reflect light, shadow, and intention. Rebar arrangements become modern glyphs etched into the ground.
This vision challenges traditional ideas of aesthetics, which often exclude industrial or transitional spaces. Essick invites us to see development as not just a means to an end but as an expression of human intent—creative, flawed, and evolving.
His drone becomes a tool for reframing, not just recording. Each image is a refracted mirror of our civilization’s ethos: the way we organize space, prioritize function, and conceptualize beauty. The result is a visual catalog of modernity’s footprint—its elegance, excesses, and ecological tensions all intertwined.
In doing so, Essick elevates not just construction sites, but our understanding of them. He transforms the utilitarian into the symbolic, the ephemeral into the contemplative.
Witnessing Change from Above: A Future Shaped by Perspective
As technology continues to evolve, so does the potential to see our world anew. Drones have democratized aerial exploration, giving artists like Essick the ability to chronicle vast changes from angles once reserved for satellites and aircraft. Yet it is not the drone that makes the work meaningful—it’s the intention behind it.
Essick uses this tool not to surveil, but to interpret. His images don’t simply document development; they translate it into a language of line, form, and impact. And in doing so, they offer a different kind of blueprint—not for buildings, but for awareness.
In a world increasingly shaped by rapid urbanization, climate unpredictability, and environmental fatigue, Essick’s work stands as both artifact and oracle. It reminds us that beauty exists in impermanence, that progress is layered with cost, and that every plot of land holds stories worth listening to—especially before they are paved over.
The future he invites us to see is not just one of buildings and infrastructure, but of renewed perception. A world where we look longer, think deeper, and build better—not just higher.
Layers of History Beneath the Asphalt
Peter Essick’s exploration of Atlanta’s urban evolution goes far beyond steel and soil—it delves deep into the cultural substrata of the land. His visual narratives are layered with historical resonance, rooted in the reality that this metropolitan terrain once thrived as old-growth Piedmont forest. Long before zoning ordinances and architectural blueprints, these grounds were inhabited and stewarded by the Muscogee (Creek) people, whose presence shaped the landscape for generations.
Modern development often unfolds with an alarming amnesia, paving over ancient stories in pursuit of economic expansion. But Essick insists that this historical context must remain central to how we view land transformation. The soaring skyline of Atlanta, the labyrinth of suburban sprawl, the mosaic of shopping centers and office complexes—all of it exists atop ground shaped by indigenous knowledge and ecological harmony.
Essick’s commitment to honoring this legacy is evident in the subtle weight his work carries. Though his aerial images capture the raw mechanics of construction, they also evoke a deeper tension. The visual contrast between untouched forest remnants and rapidly constructed grids becomes symbolic—a quiet testament to what has been replaced.
In his view, true sustainability cannot be achieved without cultural consciousness. Urban forestry efforts, land restoration initiatives, and conservation policies are incomplete unless they acknowledge what was taken and whom it was taken from. Essick uses his craft not to rewrite history, but to underscore it—ensuring that every cleared plot and excavated corner reverberates with the memory of its original stewards.
The Ethical Evolution of Aerial Tools
Drone technology has revolutionized how we observe, record, and interpret the world. For Peter Essick, it offers an unparalleled vantage point from which to explore shifting landscapes. But he is acutely aware that the drone’s ascent into mainstream use is not without complexity.
These machines exist at the intersection of creativity and control. In one context, they document natural wonders; in another, they enable surveillance or even warfare. Essick acknowledges this dual identity and embraces the challenge it presents. Rather than shy away from the tension, he explores it.
His work is an intentional counterpoint to the intrusive and controversial uses of unmanned aerial systems. He demonstrates that with the right purpose and ethical parameters, this tool can serve to illuminate rather than exploit. Whether hovering above reforestation zones, mapping hydrological patterns, or capturing the incremental transformation of construction sites, the drone becomes a non-invasive observer—a witness to change.
Essick often cites the aphorism that new technologies inevitably find their way into both battlegrounds and art galleries. But he contends that purpose defines impact. His aerial compositions are not detached artifacts but deliberate inquiries. They pose questions about scale, permanence, and the spatial memory of the land.
By using drones responsibly and creatively, he reframes them as instruments of ecological literacy—devices that help us see what we often miss and remember what we are at risk of forgetting.
Memory, Displacement, and the Rewriting of Place
Atlanta’s rapid development is a microcosm of a global phenomenon: urban expansion rewriting the meaning of place. Neighborhoods arise where forests once stood. Highways cut through once-contiguous habitats. The displacement of nature parallels the displacement of communities. Essick's lens reveals this layered dislocation not as a polemic, but as a silent, ongoing condition of modern life.
When a tree is uprooted to make room for a foundation, it is not only an ecological event—it is a narrative rupture. The land, once defined by organic rhythms, is redefined by infrastructure. This process has become so normalized that it often escapes critique. But Essick’s aerial perspective arrests that momentum. By capturing the moment just before the final transformation, he reveals what is lost in transition.
These scenes are not overtly mournful; rather, they are observant. A construction site isn’t vilified—it’s contextualized. The steel rising from red clay is understood as part of a continuum of reshaping and reclaiming. Still, embedded in every image is a quiet insistence that place matters. That memory, though intangible, has physical weight.
Essick challenges viewers to consider what came before the blueprint, to look beneath the asphalt and steel. In doing so, he elevates the idea that memory is not something left behind—it is something built over.
The Geometry of Intervention: Form Meets Function
When Essick captures construction from the air, he is not merely documenting development—he is mapping intention. His images render form from function. A network of trenches mirrors river systems; a stack of girders suggests skeletal architecture. These are not abstract compositions—they are deliberate interventions in a landscape that once knew no straight lines.
The geometry of modern construction is precise and methodical. It imposes order on the irregular, the wild, the intuitive. Essick doesn’t shy away from this aesthetic—it fascinates him. There’s symmetry in utility, and there’s poetry in pattern. From his drone, parking lots look like circuit boards, drainage ponds mimic topographical basins, and highway interchanges resemble calligraphy etched across the terrain.
Yet, the symmetry often comes at the cost of organic spontaneity. The balance Essick captures is tinged with tension—a kind of architectural ambition that seeks to master rather than harmonize. Still, his treatment of these forms avoids cynicism. Instead, he elevates their visual logic, giving dignity to their design while inviting contemplation of their necessity.
These geometries become more than just engineered solutions—they become metaphors for our collective desire to make sense of space, to impose meaning where once there was wilderness.
Temporal Echoes in a City That Never Pauses
One of the most powerful themes in Essick’s work is time—not as chronology, but as presence. The land speaks not just through its surface, but through its stages. A half-built structure is not an incomplete idea; it is a temporal echo—a phase in a narrative too often skipped in favor of the final product.
Essick captures moments in transit, the in-between spaces that are rarely documented but deeply revealing. These images defy the finality that urban photography often seeks. Instead of celebrating the skyline, he lingers on the scaffold. Instead of marveling at the completed façade, he studies the exposed infrastructure.
There is humility in this approach. It honors the labor, the waiting, and the uncertainty that defines all large-scale change. It also prompts viewers to reimagine permanence. Buildings rise, but they age. Roads are laid, but they erode. Construction is never truly finished—it’s just paused until the next iteration.
By focusing on these fleeting instances, Essick reminds us that the city is never static. It breathes. It sheds skin. It remembers and forgets. In his work, time becomes texture, layering each image with resonance beyond the visible.
Seeing with Intention: Redefining How We Interpret Space
Essick’s drone is not simply a tool for distance—it is a device for intimacy. From hundreds of feet above, he sees deeper into space than we often do from just a few feet away. This paradox—the clarity of distance—allows him to decode the grammar of land use, construction logic, and ecological disruption with uncommon precision.
More importantly, his work encourages us to cultivate intentional seeing. In a culture saturated with imagery, it’s easy to consume visuals passively. But Essick urges a different pace—a different gaze. His compositions reward stillness. They invite questions: What happened here? What will this become? What was lost to make way for it?
This intentional gaze is a radical act in a society obsessed with novelty. It asks us to revisit places in flux, to observe rather than consume, to reflect rather than rush. Essick doesn’t just take images—he composes perspectives. And in doing so, he equips viewers with new ways of engaging with the familiar.
His work redefines how we interpret space—not as static background, but as dynamic narrative. A story of choice, impact, and interconnectedness.
Urban Futures Etched in Earth and Memory
As cities expand, the dialogue between land and development grows more urgent. Essick’s work doesn’t offer blueprints for smarter urbanism, but it lays a foundation for awareness. Through his aerial narratives, we see the earth not as a blank slate but as a palimpsest—written on, rewritten, and always waiting to be read again.
His contribution is not merely visual—it is ethical. In each image, there is an appeal to build with awareness, to design with humility, and to plan with reverence for the stories embedded in every grain of soil. Essick doesn’t demand answers—he opens space for dialogue. For empathy. For memory.
The future of cities will be shaped not just by what we construct, but by what we choose to remember while constructing. Essick’s work reminds us that innovation and integrity are not mutually exclusive. That progress is meaningful only when it honors the past it builds upon.
And in this layered vision—part documentary, part meditation—he offers not just a new way of seeing, but a new way of being present with the places we shape and the histories we inherit.
From Forest Silence to Urban Roar: An Artist’s Continuum
Before this project, Essick was widely known for capturing untouched, serene environments. His documentation of Fernbank Forest celebrated preservation, the stillness of nature, and the importance of conservation. Transitioning from that to the industrial clang of construction zones might seem like a philosophical leap, but for Essick, it's all part of the same narrative arc.
He views these contrasting landscapes—pristine wilderness and human-altered spaces—as the two poles on a continuum. Most of the modern world lies somewhere between them. Understanding this spectrum helps him explore the full story of our relationship with the environment—from admiration to alteration. His hope is that by witnessing the beauty in both extremes, we can better understand the choices we make in between.
Capturing Movement During a Moment of Stillness
A particularly poignant chapter of Work in Progress unfolded during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While much of the world paused, construction—deemed essential in many regions—marched on.
Essick recounts frequent visits to a massive multi-use development in progress: a combination of housing, retail, and recreation spaces. At a time when streets were eerily quiet and public life receded behind closed doors, these sites remained alive with motion and machinery. For Essick, venturing out to document them became not only a creative outlet but also a personal refuge—a way to stay connected to the world outside.
Charting New Territory with Next-Generation Tools
As drone technology continues to evolve, so too does Essick’s vision for the future. His most recent equipment upgrade brings enhanced safety features, longer flight times, and superior image stability. These technical improvements empower him to focus more deeply on storytelling and less on flight logistics.
Looking ahead, he envisions a series of projects that continue to examine the intersection of development and environment. Whether it’s chronicling coastal erosion, tracking urban sprawl into natural preserves, or capturing renewable energy infrastructure, Essick remains committed to using his unique vantage point to illuminate the narratives shaping our landscapes.
Final Thoughts:
Peter Essick’s Work in Progress offers more than a striking portfolio of aerial visuals—it’s an invitation to reimagine how we interpret change, progress, and the environments we shape. His work dismantles the conventional notion that beauty is found only in untouched nature or completed architecture. Instead, he finds wonder in the intermediary phases—the raw, unrefined moments when the land is being carved, molded, and redefined by human hands.
Through the patient eye of his drone, Essick captures a vocabulary of visual cues that most people pass by without notice: the curvature of excavated soil, the gridlines of partially framed buildings, the almost organic textures of disturbed earth. These elements, when seen from above, become maps of intention and consequence. They mark our place in time—not only for what we are building, but for what we are choosing to erase, disturb, or preserve.
What makes this body of work particularly resonant is its quiet duality. Each image is both art and evidence, composition and documentation. They stand at the intersection of creation and critique, encouraging the viewer not only to admire the forms but to consider the implications of their existence. In this way, Essick isn’t simply showing us what cities look like from the air—he’s asking us to think about the long-term trajectory of our urban narratives.
In a world increasingly dominated by rapid development, rising populations, and diminishing natural resources, Essick’s project feels especially timely. It reminds us that we are not passive observers of change—we are its authors. Every zoning permit, every blueprint, and every paved road tells a story about who we are and what we value. His work compels us to reflect on those values, and to ask: Can we build with more humility, more foresight, and more empathy for the land beneath our ambitions?
Ultimately, Work in Progress is not just a chronicle of construction; it is a visual meditation on transformation—of landscapes, of cities, and of ourselves. Through Essick’s lens, we are urged to see not only what is rising from the ground, but also what we must strive not to lose.
