Facing Climate Change

Photographer

Benjamin Drummond / Sara Joy Steele

Concept

Facing Climate Change illustrates global change through local people. From semi-nomadic reindeer herders in Norway to wildland firefighters of the American West, Benjamin and Sara document the lives of people around the world as they confront and adapt to the complex issues surrounding global warming. In the summer and fall of 2006, they collected profiles of Sámi reindeer herdsmen in Norway, volunteer glacier monitors from Iceland and fishermen of the North Atlantic.

At a time when it's more important than ever to humanize this challenge, Benj and Sara have witnessed a critical need for stories that bring a problem that is often perceived as foreign and remote closer to home. They are currently seeking support to complete a series of profiles from the American West: "The Tinder People" explores landscape level change through the people who live and work in America's forests; "Kitchen Table Climate Change" illustrates how warming impacts two of humankind's most basic necessities, food and water; and "Unwelcome Waves" documents summer heat and coastal erosion in communities at both ends of the geographic and economic spectrum.

Visit www.facingclimatechange.org to learn more about their print media, exhibitions, and live and Web-based multimedia.

Biography

Benjamin Drummond is a 28 year-old Seattle-based freelance photojournalist and graphic designer. Sara Joy Steele, 29, is an independent writer and producer. Before this project, they worked with North Cascades Institute, a conservation nonprofit in Washington State. While at the Institute, they created "The Dipper's Attitude: Conversations with Northwest Naturalists," an ongoing collection of profiles that explore who Northwest naturalists are, how they attend to the natural world, and why that matters. They have also examined issues of people and landscape with a Larson International Fellowship from Carleton College for "Bone Wood Alpaca: An Exploration in the High Peruvian Andes". Facing Climate Change is Benjamin and Sara's first full-time commitment to independent journalism and documentary art.

Project Updates

Spring 2008

From Reindeer to Rainier—People and Climate Change from the Nordic Countries to the Pacific Northwest: Benj and Sara will share their Nordic multimedia presentation followed by a discussion with local climate experts at REI Seattle on Earth Day, April 22, at 7pm.

Facing Climate Change is one of several Blue Earth Alliance projects featured in a special exhibition at City Hall in Seattle from April 22 through June 9. Attend the Opening Reception on May 1, from 4 to 6pm.

Benj and Sara recently won an award for the most outstanding portfolio that addresses how we live on this planet at the Our World Portfolio Review sponsored by PhotoAlliance and Orion magazine. Look for a portfolio of their work in the July/August issue of

View by Project View by Photographer