Our Mission

The link between compelling documentary photography and our collective motivation to change attitudes, behavior, even policies – is strong.

Eddie Adams’s Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph of a Vietcong execution in Saigon forever changed how the world viewed the Vietnam War. Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado’s images of the impoverished portray human life with fresh dignity and compassion.

Maintaining this link is central to the mission of Blue Earth.

Through our support of Photography that Makes a Difference, Blue Earth has helped raise almost a million dollars for important issues often overlooked by traditional media--The Arctic. Global warming. The loss of open space in Los Angeles. Racism suffered by farmers. Disappearing traditions of New England fishermen. The role of grandmothers in AIDS-ravaged Africa.

Our sponsored projects have been at the forefront of issues affecting contemporary society—John Trotter’s No Agua, No Vida investigates the Southwest’s limited water resources; Perry Dilbeck’s Truck Farmers: The Last Harvest chronicles the loss of independent farming; and Florian Schultz’s Yellowstone to Yukon promotes the unification of animal migration routes and habitats across international borders.

We work closely with our selected photographers to offer resources and support including:

  • Non-profit, fiscal sponsorship for fundraising
  • Grant-writing consultation
  • Marketing and PR expertise
  • Contacts for publishers, galleries and museums
  • Technical resources like Shooting From the Heart, a Blue Earth-published instructional book for personal projects
  • Experienced Advisory Board to answer questions and provide guidance

Our projects are featured in books such as The Living Wild by Art Wolfe, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by Subhankar Banerjee, and Life on Earth: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lanting. The organization has seen more than a dozen books published, including titles by Blue Earth co-founders Natalie Fobes and Phil Borges.

News and Events

  • Blue Earth Launches Lecture Series

    Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá will present the first lecture in a series on documentary photography at The Henry on on Saturday, November 8th at 2 p.m. More »

  • Blue Earth At PhotoPlus

    Visit our booth at PhotoPlus Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, Oct. 23-25th. More »

  • Annual Lottery A Major Success

    Blue Earth’s biggest event of the year, our 4th Annual Blue Earth Lottery fundraiser keeps getting better – and this year was no exception! More »

  • Blue Earth To Receive Community Recognition Award

    Blue Earth is proud to be the 2009 recipient of the North American Nature Photography Association’s “Community Recognition Award.” More »

  • Blue Earth Launches New Blog

    Our blog covers photography news, project updates, and stories from our photographers. More »

Featured Projects

  • Benjamin Drummond / Sara Joy Steele
    Facing Climate Change More »

  • Steve Simon
    The Grandmother Spirit More »

  • Perry Dilbeck
    Truck Farmers: The Last Harvest More »

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