The history of conservation photography did not begin with the creation of the iLCP. Although it is true that as a collective of concerned photographers we coined the term and gave the concept new impetus, the idea has been around almost since the advent of the camera.
There is a long legacy in conservation photography that has blazed the trail for the way we currently use photography for environmental advocacy – William Henry Jackson, Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter are among earlier photographers whose advocacy work, in one way or another, translated into the protection of special landscapes. Jackson’s 1871 photographs of Yellowstone, for example, provided the visual argument that convinced legislators to create America’s first national park, and since then, photographers all around the world have used images for advocacy.
How we use conservation photography today demands a higher degree of urgency, as the issues challenging our planet are ever more complex, pressing and devastating. Addressing these issues by simply making pictures and hoping they reach the right audiences is not enough. Photographers today must take on a very active role in finding ways for their images to impact the right people. Sometimes the audience consists of legislators and other decision-makers, others it is made up of influential people whose opinions and recommendations move attitudes; more often than not, we are trying to educate end users, corporations and extractive industries on the impacts of their activities and how to mitigate them. Rarely is the image made by a conservation photographer used as mere entertainment.
Today’s conservation photographers must strive to be visual activists – activism here defined as “the use of strong actions in opposition to or in support of a cause” – because if we fail to be activists, we will inevitably be merely “inactive”. The difference between making great images and making great images that work hard to protect our planet is what really defines conservation photography.
Cristina Mittermeier
President
International League of Conservation Photographers
Dan “Dano” Steinhardt was at the gallery today discussing the new line of EPSON signature worthy papers (velvet fine art paper, hot & cold press papers) with Art.
He and his crew filmed Art with the RED ONE video camera with BUILD 21 & Redcine-X software.
The resulting several minute video will be posted on the EPSON web site and used at trade shows around the country.
Nearly 300 of Art’s most amazing landscape images are showcased in this high-definition Digital Art Show™, accompanied by beautiful music from renowned new age musician Scott Cossu.
The images are displayed in a continual slide show showcasing the stunning beauty of distinct environmental landscapes & regions of the world. From the Great Bahamas Bank to the icebound Arctic, you’ll witness the sheer wonder and drama of our earth captured in these amazing< photographs. Use this DVD as the perfect backdrop for entertaining or creating a relaxing environment in your home or office.
Art will be giving a benefit showing of Between Heaven and Earth at the San Juan Island Community Theater at 6 pm, on March 13. For tickets, please call 360-378-3210.
Today is International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s rights and progress around the world. For more information and to find an event near you, visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Final call for the Bhutan Photo Tour with Art! There are only two places left on this two week international workshop to the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The trip dates are March 25 to April 6 and the absolute last day to sign up is Tuesday, March 9th. For information and registration, visit http://www.artwolfeworkshops.com/bhutan_tour.php
This is an opportunity of a lifetime for any photographer!
There are a few spaces remaining in our Creative Sessions Workshop on March 5-7, 2010 in Seattle, Washington. If you are interested visit the Art Wolfe Workshop Website.
The International Conservation Photography Awards (ICP Awards) is a premier worldwide photography event focused on conservation and the environment. The biennial juried photo competition, along with awarding cash and merchandise to selected photographers, will include an online exhibit, a 3-month museum gallery exhibit at the prestigious Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington, publication in a national photography magazine and other printed communications, and a slide show for use in community outreach and global on-line entertainment/education. Hurry, the deadline is quickly approaching – February 28th, 2010.
Welcome to the new IMPACT online exhibition, a project exploring the internet as a venue for insightful photographic work. In an effort to remind viewers of the important role photographers play around the world, we invited an array of imagemakers to share galleries on their blogs (like this one) that comprise 12 images representing an experience when they had an impact on or were impacted. By clicking on the links below the IMPACT logo, you can move through the exhibition, viewing other galleries by different photographers. You can also click the IMPACT logo to be taken to a post on the liveBooks RESOLVE Blog where you can see an index of all participating photographers. We hope that by linking different photographic visions of our first topic, “Outside Looking In,” we can provide a multifaceted view of the topic as well as the IMPACT individuals can have on the world around us.
Fed by snowmelt from the Himalaya, the Ganges River is the spiritual center of Hinduism, and one of India’s holiest cities is Allahabad, cradled at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers. Every few years, depending upon the alignment of the planets, sun, and moon, this is the site of the world’s largest gathering of humanity, the Kumbh Mela.
I have been in the midst of huge migrations of wildlife, but nothing ever prepared me for this mass human pilgrimage. From every corner of the subcontinent, millions of people converge to bathe in the purifying river waters. There is nothing on Earth that can match this pilgrimage for sheer spectacle and exuberance.
From the earliest moments of the day to late at night, there is constant pageantry and stimulation. I love working the margins of the day, especially the mornings when people are just waking up. Filtered by low light the atmosphere is hazy with dust and smoke; the harsh edges softens and even the most mundane scene looks like a painting. It is easy to say that photographing the Kumbh Mela has been one of the great adventures and privileges of my life.
The history of conservation photography did not begin with the creation of the iLCP. Although it is true that as a collective of concerned photographers we coined the term and gave the concept new impetus, the idea has been around almost since the advent of the camera.
