The People Of Clouds At Mountainfilm
If you are attending the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride this
Memorial Day weekend, you’ll have several chances to see Blue Earth
project photographer Matt Black in person talking about some of his
recent work. His Blue Earth project The People of Clouds
is a personal essay on “the unraveling of one the world’s oldest
farming cultures in the Mixteca region of southern Mexico, where land
erosion and collapsing corn prices from free trade are bleeding
communities dry.” If you are at the festival, be sure not to miss this
unique opportunity to hear about Black’s field work in his own words.
Christoph Gielen In Wired’s Raw File
Wired Magazine's Raw File is featuring a profile of Christoph Gielen's Blue Earth project Incarcerated Populations: American Prison Perspectives. The article includes a small gallery of recent photos as well as an interview by Peter Brook providing some interesting insight into Gielen’s personal perspective on his work.
Fukushima, Photo A Day
This past week, Blue Earth project photographer Michael Forster Rothbart After Chernobyl, After Fukushima noted the second anniversary of the earthquake in Japan by launching a new photo commentary series on his blog featuring a photo per day from his project. The series should run through the end of the month and provides a unique insight into his experiences reporting on nuclear crises.
Our House In The Clouds
Photographer Judy Blankenship - Blue Earth project The Cañari of Southern Ecuador - just released her newest book Our House in the Clouds: Building a Second Life in the Andes of Ecuador.
While many baby boomers are downsizing to a simpler retirement lifestyle, photographer and writer Judy Blankenship and her husband Michael Jenkins took a more challenging leap in deciding to build a house on the side of a mountain in southern Ecuador. They now live half the year in Cañar, an indigenous community they came to know in the early nineties when Blankenship taught photography there. They are the only extranjeros (outsiders) in this homely, chilly town at 10,100 feet, where every afternoon a spectacular mass of clouds rolls up from the river valley below and envelopes the town. In this absorbing memoir, Blankenship tells the interwoven stories of building their house in the clouds and strengthening their ties to the community.
The gallery for her project at Blue Earth was recently updated with new photos from Ecuador, as well as updates on recent work. We’re proud at Blue Earth to have sponsored so many great projects over the years, and we can easily point to Blankenship’s work in the Cañari communities as a great example of what Blue Earth is all about.
New Films For Facing Climate Change
Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele just launched four new films for Facing Climate Change. Oyster Farmers, Coastal Tribes, Potato Farmers, and Plateau Tribes all explore global climate change through people who live and work in the Pacific Northwest.
These stories came about after one of the project’s partners, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington, released the Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment. It’s an incredible resource with startling projections for how climate change will impact the Northwest’s future, but it’s also 400 pages and a lot of science to wade through. Benj and Sara’s goal is to put a face to projections like these and to bring new voices into the conversation.
The new films recently premiered at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, and over the next year Benj and Sara will be working to distribute the stories though their project partners and a series of community events - including a launch event in Seattle. In 2013 they will also add two more films. Stay tuned to their blog for details.
Christoph Gielen In Creative Time Reports
Creative Time Reports just published today a new article by Christoph Gielen. In the article, Gielen discusses his Blue Earth project Incarcerated Populations: American Prison Perspectives and features several new photos. This will be the first in a forthcoming series of articles from Gielen - keep an eye out for further updates!
Samuel James In Lens
Samuel James’ latest work, from his Blue Earth project Niger Delta, is being featured in the New York Times blog Lens. The Whitney Richardson article Money for the Taking in the Niger Delta Swamps includes an interview with James as well as a gallery of recent photos.
Peter DiCampo In Salon
Salon this week published Introducing Africa to the OMG crowd an article by Blue Earth project photographer Peter DiCampo. DiCampo’s article discusses the use of Instagram in, and its effects on, his ongoing project Everyday Africa, a joint project with writer Austin Merrill. It’s an interesting case study on the opportunities presented by new technology.
Blue Earth Photographers At Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Several Blue Earth photographers and board members recently attended the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, California. The Festival, now in its 11th year, features environmental and adventure films. This year’s theme was A Climate of Change and more than 4,500 tickets were sold.
Garth Lenz spoke about the True Cost of Oil and shared images from his project, Energy and Ecology.
Matt Black presented photography from his project, The People of Clouds, which chronicles the unraveling of one of the world’s oldest farming cultures in the Mixteca region of Southern Mexico.
Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele premiered four new films from their project, Facing Climate Change. They also spoke on a panel titled On the Edge of Their Seats: Effective Storytelling in a Noisy World, with board member Jason Houston of Take One Creative. Jason and his partner Hal Clifford were at the festival for the west coast premiere of their new film, Picture the Leviathan.
Jamey Stillings’ The Evolution of Ivanpah Solar
Today, Jamey Stillings’ “The Evolution of Ivanpah Solar” is being featured in a new online gallery at the Forward Thinking Museum. Stillings’ Blue Earth project Changing Perspectives on Renewable Energy Development expands upon some of this earlier work at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert highlighting the complex issues surrounding the development of alternative energy sources. Take a few moments to view some of the amazing work from his project.
Update 1/29: Stilling’s work from Ivanpah Solar is also being covered by Fast Company and the Instituto Carbono Brasil.
Furlotti Awards Grant To “Cameras Without Borders”
We are pleased to note that the Furlotti Family Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to Eberhard Riedel’s Cameras Without Borders project at Blue Earth. Over recent years, Riedel has spent many months in several African nations ravaged by conflict working in the field to photograph his project as well as to help efforts at recovery. This grant is a recognition of the value of his work, and a great example of how partnerships between documentary photographers and foundations can yield concrete results.
As noted on the Blue Earth blog earlier, Eberhard Riedel: My African Journey, Riedel’s latest manuscript will be published this spring in the journal Psychological Perspectives, Volume 56-1. Be sure to check out the article to learn about his most recent trip.
Shell’s Kulluk Rig Run Aground
Our readers may remember that Blue Earth’s Gary Braasch recently published the first photos of Shell’s Kulluk oil rig off the coast of Alaska. Now that very same oil rig has run aground:
Already there is a disturbing New Year’s surprise from Shell Oil. Shell’s drill rig Kulluk, which Gary Braasch photographed in October off northern Alaska, broke free of tow ropes and ran aground on Kodiak Island in heavy seas while being towed to Seattle. We have info and links to the news.
Just three months ago on World View of Global Warming we showed how close Shell’s Kulluk drilling location was to Alaska’s protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The grounding of the rig on its way from that location via Dutch Harbor to Seattle for the winter shows the power of Arctic weather, and the threat of oil drilling to all of Alaska’s rich waters and wildlife along its coast.
Visit Gary’s World View of Global Warming for additional updates as well as new photos from his latest trips.
Roberto ‘Bear’ Guerra In NPR’s 100 Words
Blue Earth photographer Roberto ‘Bear’ Guerra’s project La Carretera: Life Along Peru’s Interoceanic Highway is being featured in NPR’s ‘the picture show’ series. The NPR article, 100 Words: On Peru’s Interoceanic Highway features a statement from Guerra about his work and a gallery of some of his latest photos.
The Blue Earth Book Is Funded
Thanks to the generosity of our friends and members, The Blue Earth Book is under way. We exceeded our goal on Kickstarter!
The Blue Earth Book will highlight a collection of Blue Earth’s most important projects, projects like Dina Kantor's Treece, Samantha Box’s Invisible and John Lowenstein’s Shadow Lives USA. Featured portfolios will be selected and edited by Whitney Johnson, Director of Photography at The New Yorker. We hope this will become the first edition of an annual series.
Stay tuned for more updates as work on the book progresses. Though we are not taking pre-orders since our Kickstarter closed, we are planning to open orders later in the summer.
Jamey Stillings In NPR’s The Picture Show
NPR’s “The Picture Show” blog is featuring Jamey Stillings’ Blue Earth project Changing Perspectives on Renewable Energy Development. The article by Clare O’Neill Under Construction: The World’s Largest Thermal Solar Plant includes an interview with Stillings and an interactive gallery with several recent photos from his latest work.
Updated Gallery Of Tom Reese’s “Choosing Hope”
Blue Earth project photographer Tom Reese was kind enough to share with us a new collection of some of his latest work. Reese has been winning awards for his project and is keeping very busy these days with recent exhibits.
The Duwamish River can be hard to love, but it flows powerfully through the hearts of those who know it well. The Duwamish is one of earth’s vital arteries conveying lifeblood from mountains to the sea, so it can be difficult to accept that its lower 5½ -mile stretch has been turned into one of the most toxic waste environments in the United States - an industrial sewage canal flowing out past the scenic waterfront of Seattle.
It would be easy to turn away feeling depressed and helpless, but a growing number of people are choosing to believe in the recovery of this river and are working relentlessly toward that future. Their vision has motivated the first successes in reducing water pollution and restoring habitat, wildlife, and hope.
The larger question for the river is also the essential human question of our time: “What relationship do we choose to have with our home, the natural world?”
Take a few minutes to check out the new photos in his project gallery!
From The Field: Gary Braasch In India, Nepal, and Bhutan
Fresh from the field, Blue Earth project photographer Gary Braasch just published an update on his recent travels:
We have just returned from a two month journey to India, Nepal and — for the first time — Bhutan. We explored climate change, energy, food and conservation issues affecting Himalayan and Indian villages, cities and rivers. Gary shot more than 25,000 24-mb images with the latest full frame digital cameras.
Please see our first report from this journey, about the source of the Ganges River, now updated with recent science and implications of rapidly thawing ice. Gary estimated the Gangotri glacier terminus is now at 30 degrees 55 minutes 34 seconds N, 79 degrees 4 minutes 48 seconds E. Recent scientific measurements pace its recession at approximately 18 meters a year.
Take a few moments to check out a gallery of his latest photos.
Bruce Farnsworth Receives “Highly Honored Image” Award
A photo by Blue Earth project photographer Bruce Farnsworth Amazon Headwaters: Locals Working Toward the Global has received the Highly Honored Image award in the 2012 Windland Smith Natures Best International Photography Competition. Images from the competition will also comprise a Smithsonian Museum exhibition in 2013.
Read more on the Blue Earth blog...
Samuel James In Harper’s Magazine
Recent photos by Samuel James from his Blue Earth project Niger Delta are featured in the September issue of Harper’s Magazine. His project at Blue Earth “seeks to provide the public with an intimate and nuanced visual record of the ongoing struggle for power, land and oil in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, one of the world’s largest and most polluted oil-producing regions.” Readers can view additional photos from his recent work on James’ project gallery.
2012 Collaborations For Cause Videos Now Available
Videos from our 2012 Collaborations For Cause are now online. Included in this initial selection are several presentations and a number of one-on-one interviews with speakers about their work.
Collaborations for Cause is a retreat for communications professionals who want and need to use emerging new media outlets to build strong, lasting bridges among creative multimedia storytellers, non-profits, socially responsible corporations and supporting communities.
To be successful we need to realign the structures of the communications process. This retreat will attempt to break down the silos by bringing together content producers, media innovators and content users/clients in an environment of collegial collaboration designed to enhance our mutual understanding, leverage our complementary skills and help us cut through the noise to achieve our goals.
If you were unable to attend this year, or just want to refresh your notes from the day, these videos are a great resource that we are pleased to be able to offer as a free service.
Project Update: Garth Lenz “Energy and Ecology”
Garth Lenz has been busy promoting new work from his Blue Earth project Energy and Ecology. His “True Cost of Oil” exhibit is going to be shown in conjunction with the world premiere of a commissioned string quartet - Crossroads - for the world renowned Fry Street String Quartet on the theme of the environment and sustainability. His photos, and the work of artist Rebecca Allan, will be shown as part of the premiere and also in an exhibition at the Tippets Gallery at Utah State University in Logan Utah.
Read more on the Blue Earth blog...
Support Blue Earth At Think Tank Photo
Need a new camera bag? The folks at Think Tank Photo have generously offered to help support Blue Earth! Using the link above, 10% of the proceeds from all purchases at their store will go to help support Blue Earth’s mission to assist documentary photographers working to educate the public about critical issues.
Think Tank Photo is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work, and developing inventive new carrying solutions to meet their needs. By focusing on “speed” and “accessibility,” we prepare photographers to Be Ready “Before The Moment,” allowing them to document those historic moments that reflect their personal visions and artistic talents. For some companies, it is only about the product. For us, it is more: It is about supporting photographers doing their job. If we can design products that help photographers travel easier, take pictures faster, and organize their gear more efficiently, then we will have accomplished something beyond the bags themselves.
If you are looking for some new gear for that upcoming expedition, check out Think Tank Photo and support Blue Earth!
Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference
Need some help creating your own photographic project? Download a free PDF copy of Blue Earth's highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects, Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference. This handbook contains several articles by experienced photographers offering advice on a variety of topics from grassroots fundraising and finding an audience to creating narratives that make an impression.
Through its educational efforts and active engagement in the professional community, Blue Earth strives to move forward the agenda of all documentary photographers and photojournalists.
This book is designed to help photographers to implement a documentary photographic project. It is written by experienced members of the board of Blue Earth and other volunteers with special and relevant expertise. The contents of this book roughly parallel the sequence of steps required to successfully create and complete a documentary project.
Also included are sample applications for project sponsorship by successful Blue Earth photographers along with detailed budgets and work plans. We encourage you to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!
Photography Store
Blue Earth has launched our new photography store! Great photography books, software, digital storage, and much more - any product sold at Amazon - and all at great prices for our friends and supporters. Help Blue Earth and our project photographers while shopping for your everyday photography supplies.