Last week in San Francisco, I had the wonderful opportunity to review portfolios on behalf of Blue Earth during PhotoAlliance’s OneWorld Portfolio Review. I’ve participated as reviewer on many occasions, having a strong experience in what makes project photography work well. That is, what makes effective storytelling, background material and educational materials and the strong images that capture our attention and eventually our imagination. I would like to provide a few glimmers of support for the work that stands out as being strong, and suggest a few items for those of you considering your own project – whether personal, editorial or even broader.
First of all, at these reviews, there is the whole gamut: from well developed stories poorly photographed to amazingly thoughtful images which don’t tell a complete story; and then the projects which just wow you with wonderful imagery which brings you in, tells the story thoroughly and the photographer’s obvious passion fully present (please see Carl Bower’s project, Chasing Cinderella for which we gave him the first ever Blue Earth Prize for Project Photography!). This is the great thing about reviews – they allow you to actually meet the person responsible for inspiring your interest. And that is very valuable when assessing the viability of the project – how adept and passionate is this storyteller? Does s/he have personal commitment or s/he doing it for personal and professional development alone? These are harder to judge when we review projects as submissions to our board, which is why we have such stringent requests from our application process.
Thus, returning to PhotoAlliance’s OneWorld Photo Review, Linda Connor and Thom Sempere really put on a great event. They judged entries and matched up potential interests of the attendees with us reviewers who truly might impart some knowledge or access for their particular imagery. Overall, I was impressed with the quality of work that was presented to me and know that among reviewers, we discussed various photographers and their photographs at length, long after we’d seen their portfolios in front of us. This is one of the values of attending reviews – face-time with the reviewers and the ability to capture full attention for more than we’re normally able to commit: impressive branding opportunity for you!
So, a few of the projects that Blue Earth recognized and awarded free submission for project sponsorship are illustrated below. All of them have some work to do still on explaining their educational aspirations for their photographs; or in making compelling images that truly tell a full story on the issues they are addressing. But all four hold sway for me in a few important ways – they are addressing issues that are very relevant in today’s atmosphere of haste: food processing, our care of the elderly and incapacitated, and our neglect of the disabled. Each of the storytellers also has something that I didn’t hear from everyone else: a passionate and lasting absorption in their respective projects that would transcend their own interests in the project and imagery. They want these issues addressed forcefully despite their own limitations to address them. In offering this brief opportunity to highlight their projects, I hope that these photographers welcome Blue Earth’s interest in seeing them evolve into something very worthwhile by them moving forward.
Eva Hershaw is developing a powerful story of the origination of food and the consumer – a unique look at some personal stories that we don’t hear every day:
The first photograph is of Elena Garcia, a Zapotec woman from the Oaxacan State of Mexico. It was here, in the cradle of domesticated Mexican corn, that GMO maize has been traced by University research teams in the last year.
The second photo is wheat harvest in Palouse, Washington where the fourth-generation Flansburg farm struggles to make payments on loans with the increasing costs of production as determined by petrol products and the difficulty of acquiring credit.
© Eva Hershaw
© Eva Hershaw
The next story by Abraham Nievod – a PhD & JD scholar – tells of his unique position as expert witness when asked to testify in elder abuse & financial fraud trials. He has used his passion as photographer to tell a more complete picture of his subjects, offering compassionate and telling visual portraits of the folks his legal and physical mind are hired to portray. The unique aspect to which he presents his visual studies is the brief that is submitted to the judge in the cases he works. Very often, the elderly are mismanaged and abused as our disconnect between the generations becomes more pronounced.
© Abraham Nievod
© Abraham Nievod
And then there is Rob Badger who has been documenting the destruction of the wildflower – an oft-overlooked victim in the global warming process. His images are compelling and the story is obviously one that works with the frogs and the reefs to complement the full-tier ecosystem aspect of a warming planet: the oceans, the forests and the alpine mountains. There is some visual evidence regarding the negative impact of early snow pack melting, and how it affects some species at the sub alpine level.
© Rob Badger
© Rob Badger
Jean-Claude Louis has taken a worldwide problem and attempted to work from the inside out. Thru circumstance, he started in Uganda (and actually worked or travelled with another famed Blue Earth photographer, Heather McClintock), but has his sights set a bit more broadly. In this case, it is best left to his own words to tell the story:
In Uganda, as in most African countries, disability in childhood creates a stigma for these children and their families. In many cases disability is the result of poverty, because of its connections with disease, inadequate health care, conflict and discrimination. In many cases, misunderstanding and discrimination can be a bigger barrier to disabled children than their disability itself. The Katalemwa Cheshire Home for Rehabilitation Services in Kampala, Uganda, is a charitable organization that searches for disabled children hidden by their parents in remote villages, brings them into their center in Kampala, where medical services, education and social support are provided to them. The aim of the organization is to adapt the children to society, as well as to adapt the society to the needs of the disabled individual. I have witnessed their pain, their burden, but also the strength of their will, their hope and the grace within each of them. One day, Peter, a 15-year-old boy who lost one leg to osteosarcoma, approached me and recited a poem that he wrote:
Disability is not inability/Especially not for me
God wants to see that everybody is able/And that means even me
I’m not a cartoon, I’m a human/I have feelings, Treat me right
I am not a mega superstar or a hero/But you know I’m special
In fact I’m quite unique
My goal with this photographic project is to open our eyes to the plight of disabled children and to raise awareness and recognition of their condition. Once these children are seen, they can no longer be ignored by us.
© Jean-Claude Louis
© Jean-Claude Louis
Adam Weintraub
Adam is a long serving Board Member of Blue Earth. He was a reviewer at the at the PhotoAlliance 2009 Our World Portfolio Review, held March 13-15, 2009 in San Francisco at which the first ever Blue Earth Prize For Best Project Photography was awarded to Carl Bower.
