With an important mid-term election approaching, environmentalists are keeping a close watch on what the results may mean for climate legislation as well as other critical environmental issues in the next Congress.  Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee contributes his opinion on the California Senate race on The Huffington Post.

“Senator Boxer is doing the right thing by protecting the coast of her home state from offshore drilling. It’s time that we move away from the death grip of oil-and-coal and start a clean energy revolution in the U.S. During Wednesday evening’s debate Senator Boxer also pointed out that her aim is to make California “a hub of clean energy industry”. This is what all Americans need to hear.”

Read the rest of his article for details of how photos from his project help defeat efforts in the Senate to approve oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge.

- Bart J. Cannon, Executive Director

We are very pleased to announce the acceptance of four new projects: Choosing Hope: Reclaiming the Duwamish River - Tom Reese; Cameras without Borders: Photography for Healing and Peace - Eberhard Riedel; Sufis: Messengers Of Peace - Amit Mehra; Toxic Water, Poisoned People: When Mountains Fall To Pay For Coal - Paul Corbit Brown.

Everyone at Blue Earth wishes to congratulate our new project photographers! We very much look forward to working together to further their projects highlighting these important issues.

Choosing Hope: Reclaiming the Duwamish River - © Tom Reese.

“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.”

Cameras without Borders: Photography for Healing and Peace - © Eberhard Riedel.

“Recurrent racism, tribalism and fundamentalist ideology are tearing apart the human fabric. I work with peoples in Africa whose ways of life are under assault and who are suffering the consequences of violence, war and discrimination. This includes the Bushman of Southern Africa and Pygmy in Uganda and Congo, who are among the oldest inhabitants of Africa.”

Sufis: Messengers Of Peace - © Amit Mehra.

“Post 9/11, the general perception to Islam has been quite negative but what needs to be understood is the much larger picture of communal amity it stands for. It is a unique topic, which hopes to enlighten people about the inherent concept and nature of Sufism, the middle path in Islam, as a harmonious philosophy highlighting the benevolence of Islam; an aspect critical to its comprehension in these troubled times.”

Toxic Water, Poisoned People: When Mountains Fall To Pay For Coal - © Paul Corbit Brown.

“Appalachia is the second most bio-diverse ecosystem on the planet and yet it is being systematically destroyed by a cheap coal extraction method called Mountain Top Removal (MTR). Over the last 20 years, over 500 mountains have been destroyed, the water is now toxic with heavy metals and the rate of destruction is rising at an alarming rate.”

Want to help us support great projects like these? Join us for the annual Blue Earth Lottery, an evening filled with fine art photography, gourmet food, and delicious wine, and take home a print donated by one of our world-class photographers like Phil Borges and Subhankar Banerjee! Unlike auctions, every ticket holder is guaranteed a print for their collection.

Join the fun Sept. 30, 2010, 6 p.m. at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture at our annual fundraiser gala! Seating is limited. Order your lottery tickets today.

- Bart J. Cannon, Executive Director

Attempted cleanup of heavy oil, Terrebonne Bay Louisiana, by workers of subcontractor for BP.  July 14, 2010.  They are throwing absorbent booms and pads into the mess and are just dragging it out again, over and over.  BP Gulf Oil coverage by photojournalist Gary Braasch and scientist Joan Rothlein

Though the well may be capped (at least we hope it stays that way), the ongoing disaster in the Gulf created by BP’s deep water drilling continues today.  Blue Earth project photographer Gary Braasch remains on the scene in the Gulf reporting on the crisis, even as the mainstream media turns its attention to the latest MTV music awards.

“It is my hope that these images and ideas will be useful to you not only in depicting this largest environmental disaster - but also in helping turn public and political opinion toward a positive change in our energy and climate policy.  My work here will help illustrate the link between the warming atmosphere and the overuse of fossil fuels and risky drilling for more oil.  I am reporting with Joan Rothlein, an environmental health scientist, and will be preparing reports and photos on many aspects of the oil spill that continues to heavily affect the Gulf waters.  The coverage ranges from the 4.9 million barrels of oil that flowed out from the rig site for three months - to the broad effects on and reactions by the people of the Gulf and telling details along the way.”

It’s easy to forget how much we rely on the dedication and professionalism of photojournalists like Gary to keep the public’s eye pointing in the right direction.  Follow his work, including his own posts from the field, and view more new images from his ongoing reporting at World View Of Global Warming.

- Bart J. Cannon, Executive Director

Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá is participating in a new exhibit in Aspen focusing on the ongoing Gulf oil spill disaster “SPILL - Crude Response: oil, plastics and perspective.”  The exhibit coincides with the current Gulf oil and climate discussions at the Aspen Institute’s Environment Forum.

SPILL shows us how artists experience environmental issues, and how we are all in it together. The exhibition was created to give policy and industry leaders an artistic way of looking at the Gulf Oil Spill. SPILL artists bring us real life stories of tragedy and hope, from their eyes, and the idea that we need to continue to focus on how important and vital the ocean is to our collective daily existence.

Participating artists include Daniel Beltrá, Aurora Robson, and Kenji Williams.  The exhibit opens today, July 28 and runs through September 25, 2010 at the 212 Gallery.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Blue Earth project photographer Greg Constantine has just opened a new exhibit at The Go Down Arts Centre in Nairobi, Kenya featuring new work from his project Nowhere People.

Kenya’s Nubians: Then & Now is the first exhibition in Africa for photographer Greg Constantine (USA, b. 1970).  The Nubian community has lived in Kenya for over 100 years.  Brought to Kenya by the British in the late 1800s, Nubians served for the British in the King’s African Rifles during WWI and WWII and were vital in the development of East Africa.  Unable to return to their homeland, the British designated over 4000 acres of land for the Nubians and their families to settle on.  The Nubians named the land, Kibra or ‘land of forest’.  After Kenyan Independence, the Nubian community has historically been denied recognition and has been one of Kenya’s most invisible and under-represented communities.  Over the past 40 years, hundreds of thousands of rural migrants have flooded into Nairobi in search of work and Kibra has been the land where they’ve been encouraged to settle.  Eventually the Nubian settlement of Kibra would turn into Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa.

Kenya’s Nubians: Then & Now combines rare, historical photographs of the Nubian community in Kenya with Constantine’s own work on the community’s struggle for recognition.  The exhibition aims to promote the dynamic and rich heritage of a community few in Kenya are aware of, and it intends to help tell the story of one of Kenya’s communities who, as one Nubian elder described is, “being squeezed into extinction.”

The exhibit runs through August 14, 2010 and will be accompanied by an outdoor exhibition/installation in the Kibera slum (outside Nairobi) from August 13-15.  After Kenya, the exhibit will travel to London - keep an eye out for details.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Domestic Landscapes: Eastern Europe - © Bert Teunissen

We have been pleased to report recently on the progress of Bert Teunissen with his Blue Earth sponsored project Domestic Landscapes: Eastern Europe highlighting changing domestic interiors across Europe.  Teunissen has just added a new series from his recent journeys traveling almost 10,000 kilometers from his home in the Netherlands into the Balkans and back again.  He plans to travel to Rumania in September and The Ukraine and Belarus in 2011.

Take a few moments and check his latest work.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

In case you can’t make his exhibit at the Museum Of New Art, Blue Earth project photographer Jeffrey Sauger will open a new exhibit at the Jack Hanley Gallery.  The exhibit features work from his project Where Furrows Run Deep, documenting the plight of African American farmers in the rural South.

The exhibit runs July 6-30th, 2010 at the Jack Hanley Gallery, New York (136 Watts).  If you will be in New York, be sure not to miss the show!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Blue Earth project photographer Jeffrey Sauger just opened a new exhibit at the Museum of New Art.  The exhibit features work from his project Where Furrows Run Deep, documenting the plight of African American farmers in the rural South.

Through these images, I hope for the audience to make a connection to the people who have opened their lives to me, to become more informed about the plight of the African American farmer, to acknowledge the existence of institutional racism that still pervades our society and to have an honest and open conversation about it.  In these tough economic times, many people can likely relate to the physical, emotional and financial struggles of the American family farmer.

The exhibit is open now through July 17, 2010 at the Museum of New Art, 7 North Saginaw Street in Pontiac, Michigan.  If you are in the area, be sure not to miss the show!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Picture courtesy of Daniel Beltrá / © 2010 Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace; used with permission

The oil spill is an ecological tragedy of enormous proportions.  It’s unclear how BP is going address the situation, and the long term consequences will obviously be severe.  BP has not been forthcoming about the extent of the spill and what is being done to fix it.  There have also been disturbing news reports about efforts to stop photographers and journalists from documenting the spill and its effect.  We took a moment to chat with Daniel Beltrá who returned from photographing the oil spill.

Daniel Beltrá is an award winning photographer, who shoots for Greenpeace, among other organizations.  (Daniel’s “Amazon at Risk” was a Blue Earth sponsored project.)

Blue Earth: So you just got back from 28 days in the gulf, shooting the oil spill - what’s your reaction in a sentence to what you saw?
Daniel:  It’s one of the biggest ecological tragedies in many centuries.  It’s a time bomb.

Blue Earth: What brought you down there to photograph?
Daniel: Greenpeace called me for a four or five day assignment.  28 days later I was still there.  It’s been a difficult assignment to work.  Two weeks into the assignment, I realized it was a challenge to document this properly and that we need to show this to the rest of the world.

Blue Earth: How did you get to a spot from which you were able to photograph?
Daniel: I went out on a plane a lot . . . a donor provided air-time, and this made it possible to capture many of the images.

Blue Earth: Where there any logistical challenges to being able to document the spill?
Daniel: Yes, definitely.  The authorities were really playing the BP game.  There was an exclusion area of 3000 feet, a Temporary Flight Restriction.  90% of what I shot was above 3000 feet which is really challenging.

Blue Earth: What have you seen or photographed that you think the average person who watches on the news does not have a sense of about the spill?
Daniel: Probably the scale of the spill.  From time to time the oil would appear and disappear, and capturing the scale of the spill was difficult.  The use of dispersants was also very scary.  Some 800,000 gallons of a dispersant may have been used, and from what I understand, this type of a dispersant is banned in other countries, like the UK.  Nobody knows what will happen with the dispersant.  For a long time, the game was to hide what was happening . . . when the oil is below the surface, you don’t necessarily see it.

Blue Earth: There were reports of journalists and photographers being prevented by BP and by the authorities from photographing - did you experience any of this?
Daniel: All the time.  It’s a pretty difficult region to access, since it’s a coastal marshland with few points of access.  There were restrictions on air and water travel.  I’ve been chased off the beach, for example in Grand Isle.  The local law enforcement said it was OK to photograph from the beach, but later the Sheriff came and said:  “everyone out.”  When this happened I went to the command center thinking that I could sort it out, but an air force sergeant there said that I would actually have to go to a community center, and coordinate with BP.  At the community center, BP “coordinated” visits - they would basically escort you and call ahead.

Blue Earth: Apart from the ecological damage, what sort of other effects will this have on the area?
Daniel: It will have a huge effect on the way many people make their living in the gulf.

Blue Earth: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us!  Check out Daniel Beltrá’s website, blog, and Facebook page.

Guardian Audio Slideshow:  You can check out Daniel’s audio slideshow at the Guardian.

Greenpeace International Picture Desk:  Greenpeace’s International Picture Desk [Facebook] has a large selection of photographs of the oil spill.

The Big Picture:  The Big Picture from the Boston Globe has an excellent slideshow, including some of Daniel’s images:  “Oil Reaches Louisiana Shores.”

BP Photo Blockage:  For coverage of BP and government efforts to prevent photographers from documenting the spill, check out this article in Mother Jones:  “It’s BP’s Oil,” as well as coverage in Newsweek (”BP’s Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill“), TreeHugger (”BP Contractors and Coast Guard Prevent CBS From Filming Oil Spill Devastation“) and Mother Nature Network (”Coast Guard and BP threaten journalists with arrest for documenting oil spill“).

In addition to Daniel, two other Blue Earth photographers have spoken about the effect of the spill.  Florian Schulz spoke to NPR:  “The Oil Spill: A Conservation Photographer’s Reaction,” and the Seattle PI:  “Photographer: Don’t risk Arctic oil spill.”  Subhankar Banerjee wrote a piece for TomDispatch “BPing the Arctic?,” which received extensive coverage.

- Venkat Balasubramani, Member Blue Earth Board of Directors

Great news for the environment!  As you may have heard, the Obama administration finally acknowledged political reality and the scope of the ever growing disaster incurred by BP in the Gulf by suspending plans for experimental oil drilling by Shell Oil in the Arctic.

Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee played his own key role again in building public pressure on the Interior Department with his essay on TomDispatch.com highlighting the dangers of deep water drilling.  Banerjee’s article was a critical call to action and was picked up UPI, Salon, CBS News, The Nation, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Grist, Mother Jones, Alternate, ZNET, and many others.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read his article.

Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

© Subhankar Banerjee

Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee has penned a timely essay on TomDispatch.com highlighting the dangers of deep water drilling planned for the Arctic.  Despite the ongoing disaster in the Gulf, the Obama administration has not halted plans by Shell Oil to begin drilling deep water wells in the in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas this very summer.  Banerjee and his work in the Arctic has been a critical voice for environmental conservation and his article is being picked up CBS News, The Nation, Grist, Mother Jones, Alternate, Znet, and many others.

In October and December 2009, MMS [US Interior Department's Minerals Management Service] approved Shell’s plan to drill five exploratory wells. In the permit it issued, the MMS concluded that a large spill was “too remote and speculative an occurrence” to warrant analysis, even though the agency acknowledged that such a spill could have devastating consequences in the Arctic Ocean’s icy waters and could be difficult to clean up.

It would be an irony of sorts if the only thing that stood between the Obama administration and an Arctic disaster-in-the-making was BP’s present catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.

And “irony” is the polite term…  Be sure to read the rest of the article.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

We could all use a few tips from an expert when it comes to wildlife photography!  Florian Schulz recently appeared on The Marc Silber Show to discuss his ongoing work, his unique perspective on photography as an “adventure,” and to offer a few concise tips for shooting in the wild.  Florian is not only a Blue Earth sponsored photographer with his extensive, ongoing project on wildlife migration corridors, but also an award winning conservation photographer recognized as one of the emerging stars.

It’s a rare opportunity to hear stories from the field first-hand, so be sure to check out the interview - and don’t forget your notebook!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Jon Orlando at the Frye Art Museum this past weekend speaking on his project “Warriors for Peace: Stories of Resistance and Renewal.”

Our thanks to Jon Orlando for taking the time out of his busy schedule to finish our second lecture series this spring with an impressive performance.  This past weekend at the Frye Art Museum, Jon treated attendees to a personal perspective from behind the lens.  His project with Blue Earth, Warriors for Peace, is a personal endeavor to tell the stories of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in their struggle to resist the ongoing violence.  If you didn’t have the chance to see Jon speak, take a few moments to check out his project gallery.

We’re in the process of planning for a third lecture series starting again in the fall.  An announcement with the schedule of speakers will be made here soon, so stay tuned!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

© Jon Orlando

Check your calendar! This week Blue Earth is hosting photographer Jon Orlando presenting “Warriors for Peace: Stories of Resistance and Renewal,” the fourth in our 2009-2010 lecture series on documentary photography focusing on global environments, social, and cultural issues. Orlando will be speaking in Seattle at the Frye Art Museum this Saturday, May 15 at 2 p.m.

In Warriors for Peace, Jon Orlando brings forth the stories and emotions of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are resisting war and working for peace. Through compelling portraits, a multi-media piece, and the retelling of the stories he has gathered, Jon will help us not only understand why veterans are speaking out, but will also re-introduce a sense of humanity into our collective dialogue around who we perceive soldiers to be. Too often in our culture we see soldiers as devoid of a sense of humanity, and absent emotions or morals that might conflict with their mission, leaving them simply as instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections. Jon’s presentation will ask the viewer to challenge that perception. Also involved in his presentation will be veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who will come to share their stories in person.

Jon Orlando is an artist-activist who uses photography to deepen our collective sense of humanity. After graduating with a degree in photography from Northern Arizona University, Jon spent 4 years as an organizer and activist on various social and political issues both regionally and nationally. Since moving to Colorado in 2005 he has re-immersed himself in photography while staying firmly rooted in efforts to create change.

Jon is an emerging artist whose work and efforts are motivated by a deep compassion for the world around him. His current project, Warriors for Peace, was recently accepted by Blue Earth and images from the series have been exhibited in group shows throughout the U.S. He is currently working on forming partnerships and alliances to distribute the project to audiences around the country. In addition he completes photographic projects for NGO’s, and editorial and commercial clients.

Tickets available at the door. Free to Blue Earth and Frye members as well as currently serving and former military personnel; $10 for non-members; $5 for students with ID.

Is your membership up-to-date? Renew today and attend all events in the Blue Earth Lecture Series for free!

We have been pleased to report recently on the progress of Bert Teunissen with his Blue Earth sponsored project Domestic Landscapes: Eastern Europe highlighting changing domestic interiors across Europe.  Now we can pass along word that Teunissen has just added a new series from his recent journeys traveling almost 10,000 kilometers from his home in the Netherlands into the Balkans and back again.  From these travels, Teunissen has added 81 new images from Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia to his project galleries.

Take a few moments and check his latest work.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Popular art discussion blog Art is Moving, run by artists Lisa Rasmussen and Lauren Odell Usher, recently interviewed photographer Jon Orlando about his current Blue Earth project Warriors for Peace.  The interview (full text included in the blog) is an interesting first-hand insight into Jon’s perspective as a photographer as well as his project.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

© Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele

We are pleased to note that Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele’s Blue Earth project Facing Climate Change will be featured at the offices of SRG Partnership during the Living Future 2010 “UnConference for Deep Green Professionals” to be held in Seattle May 5-7, 2010.  They will be exhibiting with two other local artists Sara Osebold and Vaughn Bell.  If you are attending the conference, or just happen to be in the area, be sure not to miss the exhibit.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

© Jon Orlando

Blue Earth is proud to host photographer Jon Orlando presenting “Warriors for Peace: Stories of Resistance and Renewal,” the fourth in our 2009-2010 lecture series on documentary photography focusing on global environments, social, and cultural issues. Orlando will be speaking in Seattle at the Frye Art Museum on Saturday, May 15 at 2 p.m.

In Warriors for Peace, Jon Orlando brings forth the stories and emotions of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are resisting war and working for peace. Through compelling portraits, a multi-media piece, and the retelling of the stories he has gathered, Jon will help us not only understand why veterans are speaking out, but will also re-introduce a sense of humanity into our collective dialogue around who we perceive soldiers to be. Too often in our culture we see soldiers as devoid of a sense of humanity, and absent emotions or morals that might conflict with their mission, leaving them simply as instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections. Jon’s presentation will ask the viewer to challenge that perception. Also involved in his presentation will be veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who will come to share their stories in person.

Jon Orlando is an artist-activist who uses photography to deepen our collective sense of humanity. After graduating with a degree in photography from Northern Arizona University, Jon spent 4 years as an organizer and activist on various social and political issues both regionally and nationally. Since moving to Colorado in 2005 he has re-immersed himself in photography while staying firmly rooted in efforts to create change.

Jon is an emerging artist whose work and efforts are motivated by a deep compassion for the world around him. His current project, Warriors for Peace, was recently accepted by Blue Earth and images from the series have been exhibited in group shows throughout the U.S. He is currently working on forming partnerships and alliances to distribute the project to audiences around the country. In addition he completes photographic projects for NGO’s, and editorial and commercial clients.

Tickets available at the door. Free to Blue Earth and Frye members as well as currently serving and former military personnel; $10 for non-members; $5 for students with ID.

Is your membership up-to-date? Renew today and attend all events in the Blue Earth Lecture Series for free!

As part of the Iris Nights lecture series, Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá will be speaking at The Annenberg Space for Photography on “The State of Tropical Rainforests.”

Tropical deforestation is responsible for a fifth of the world’s carbon emissions.  The economic forces of logging, mining and agricultural development destroy nearly 60 million square miles of virgin rainforests every year.  Native plants are made extinct before they are ever documented and indigenous peoples find their land ever more encroached upon.  Stopping, or at least slowing, tropical deforestation will mitigate the impact that global warming is already having on the planet.  Daniel hopes that the photos he produced for the PRP will help the public understand the environmental consequences of tropical deforestation.

Beltrá will be speaking in at the Space in Los Angeles on April 1 from 6:30-8 p.m.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Calla Lilies  © Stephen Harrison

This past Saturday at the Frye Art Museum, Stephen Harrison aptly demonstrated his expertise as both a neuroscientist and photographer in his wide-ranging discussion of human perception and the visual arts.  Despite the sunny day here in Seattle, photography enthusiasts turned out to hear first-hand about Harrison’s latest work as well as developments in ongoing research.  His lecture was one of the most detailed and informed presentations we’ve had to date.  Of course, this only sets the bar even higher for the rest of our series!

Keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming lectures - our next lecture will be May 15 with Jon Orlando, “Warriors for Peace: Stories of Resistance and Renewal.”

All lectures are held Saturdays, 2 p.m.at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.  Admission is free for Frye and Blue Earth members; $5 for students w/ ID or $10 for general admission.  Tickets will be available at the door.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager