100 Photographs for Press Freedom

Over the weekend I received a copy of the latest edition of the Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres), or RSF, annual fund-raising publication, Nature: 100 Photographs for Press Freedom. Based in France the non-profit RSF creates a publication each year to help generate revenues to support is global journalistic efforts; this year the focus was nature photojournalism. It's a project that I am extremely proud to have my photographs contribute to supporting.

This is one of those rare publications and projects that speaks to the heart of why I became a photographer. Not about the money (none of us received a dime for our contribution), and not always pretty images, it reflects the passion and commitment behind the lens. I am extremely proud to share this space with fellow photojournalists like Mitsuaki Iwago, Jim Brandenburg, Mark Moffet, and others.

Through my photo agency, Minden Pictures, my photographs contributed 8% of the 100 images that speak to the diversity and struggle of life on our planet, and support the environmental journalists, photographers and film-makers that often times risk personal safety to sound the alarm regarding the ever changing fate of our environment. From Nature, "They go to places few have ever heard of, where even fewer would like to go. Some never come back: nature photojournalists share with war reporters the highest rate of casualties of their profession. Fueled by a singular vision, they return time and time again with glimpses of our planet that challenge and shape our perspective of a fast changing world."

With the approaching 2010 designated by the UN as the International Year of Biodiversity the booklet, Nature: 100 Photographs for Press Freedom may provide a small additional glimpse at the course we are on and the need for rethinking our impact.

My great appreciation to Larry Minden and the staff of Minden Pictures for inclusion of my work in this project. Also a huge thanks to our partner agent in France Joel Halioua for his role in bring my work to RSF and sharing it on these pages with the world.

Below is a slide show of the eight images that support the 2009 edition Nature: 100 Photographs for Press Freedom.

Stepping out of the monocular rut

The Ernst Haas quote I posted a few days ago, "I am not interested in shooting new things - I am interested to see things new.", popped up again today when a friend sent a link to this short film "Kudan". It's a nine minute animated voyage through a different world. Voyages should be like that - journeys, perambulations in lands unfamiliar. I guess that's why I have always been passionate about exploring nature - a different world full of surprise that always awaits. Nature inevitably forces me to step out of my monocular rut. Other artists and art forms can do that as well, and I'm always delighted when I find an artist or work, in any medium, that pricks my perspective.

A quote I use in the early moments of a live presentation I do called, Wanderings on a Wild Planet, reads, "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." I am unapologetically selfishness about those take my breath away moments every day - I'm addicted. Yes, a life on Earth junkie. I can't imagine a more amazing place than this, Earth. Every several hours light spills upon it, magically, miraculously turning everything about me into something new and full of discovery - how frigg'n cool is that! Then, so our eyes don't become dulled, impassive to the magic, the light fades and goes out; left are but the faintest fireflies twinkling in the dimensionless firmament, reminders that the light will return.

Photography is very tricky - it's about seeing, with two eyes, a richly influenced multi-dimensional world, framing it, refining it through a single viewfinder and lens (using just one eye), then creating an image to be viewed once again in multi-dimensions. When done exceptionally well, truly an heroic feat! Mostly we are awash with thoughtless, poorly executed, mountains of mediocrity - which does dull our eyes and makes us impassive to the magic. So it vital to voyage through a different world, to prick our perspective.

The film below, Kudan, is wonderful because it is not what I would have imagined - until now there were no people-headed cows or word tubes in my world. There are fractal clouds, but not imagined in the same way. So, today, Kudan, became part of a Friday afternoon's wonderful voyage.

"I am not interested in shooting new things - I am interested to see things new."
--Ernst Haas