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 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

Everyone is busy with the holidays, but I just wanted to quickly note that Florian Schulz has relaunched his website Visions of the Wild featuring work from his Blue Earth project.

The site was built, to offer you more of Florian’s photography. We implemented image slideshows, with the option to watch the images at full screen. There is also a multimedia page, with video of us working for the Freedom to Roam project. And we have now included our blog and the online archive within the site as well.

Between shopping trips and bouts of frantic present wrapping, take a minute to check out the photos from some of his latest work in the field!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Could you use some advice from a rising star in nature photography?  SanDisk is a generous sponsor of the ongoing lecture series from the Ansel Adams Gallery/Blue Earth exhibit Changing Earth: Photographer’s Call to Action at Mumm Napa.  Camille Seaman recently appeared on The Marc Silber Show to discuss her work and her approach to photography.  In the interview, Seaman offers advice for taking photographs, and Marc highlights her tips on natural lighting.

Marc will be interviewing additional Blue Earth photographers from the exhibit lecture series in the next few months.  Keep an eye out for updates!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Braasch’s ongoing exhibit “Climate Change in Our World” at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington DC. © Gary Braasch

Blue Earth photographer Gary Braasch will be in Copenhagen next week, beginning December 10th and in his words “to the very end,” during the international climate talks to report on key developments.  In addition to taking photographs of course, Braasch will be blogging the event for his own site WorldViewOfGlobalWarming.org as well as the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Set your TiVo!  Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá will be ABC World News Tonight’s “Person of the Week” this evening, Friday Nov. 20th.  Recently, Bob Woodruff and a team from ABC News accompanied Daniel on a trip to Sumatra focusing on his work for the Prince’s Rainforests Project.  Check your local listings for broadcast times.

Update: In case you missed it, Daniel’s video segment can be viewed online. (Note, you may be forced to watch a commercial to see the video.)

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

New photography blog alert!  This month Robert Semeniuk is launching Truth In Photography, his new blog about photography, his views on the world, and his continuing work.  His very first entry in his new blog summarizes his approach rather nicely: “The world is a mess.  It’s time to change the way we see and not the way we look.”

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Sámi reindeer herder Ellen Karin Gaup, Norway. © Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele

In case you aren’t a regular subscriber, head down to the newsstand and be sure to pick up a copy of PDN’ special issue The Concerned Photographer before they’re gone.  The issue is intended to “celebrate photographers who are not just documenting problems, but actively working to solve them.”  Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele’s Blue Earth project Facing Climate Change is featured both in the issue as well as on the cover.

You can also read more about the article in Benj & Sara’s own blog.

- Bart J. Cannon

The New York Times Lens Blog is featuring a profile of Blue Earth project photographer John Trotter, Behind the Scenes: Lost and Found.  The piece interviews John about the violent attack and subsequent experiences with recovering from brain injury which led to his work for The Burden of Memory.  The article also features a gallery of images from the series.

Trotter’s current project at Blue Earth is No Agua, No Vida: The Thirsty Colorado River Delta.  Be sure to check out his new reports from the field, including new photos, which John recently wrote for the Blue Earth blog detailing his recent trip for his ongoing Colorado River project.

John’s work will also be included in the Ansel Adams / Blue Earth exhibit “Changing Earth: Photographer’s Call to Action” opening at Mumm Napa on September 19, 2009.  As part of the exhibition, John will be giving a lecture “The Future of the Colorado River” on March 6, 2010.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

One of our newest project photographers, Asim Rafiqui has an article and an impressive series of photos in latest issue of The Virginia Quarterly Review.  The summer issue features some of his recent work in Gaza after fighting broke out once again in December 2008:

[W]hen I again found myself crossing the border, the circumstances felt all too familiar, and I carried with me the fear that there was nothing new I could document. … This is the challenge of coming to Gaza: how to shed new light on one of the world’s most thoroughly photographed human tragedies?

The series of photos does not highlight the conflict per se - there are no images of tanks, burned out buildings, or rubble.  Instead, his focus is on creating intimate portraits of the people living in the wake of this ongoing disaster.

The Virginia Quarterly Review is available in print at your local newsstand as well as online.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

It has been a busy season for Blue Earth project photographer Greg Constantine traveling to continue work on his project Nowhere People, documenting the daily lives of persons coping with statelessness across the globe.  Rather than trying to summarize the highlights myself, I’ll let Greg speak in his own words:

2009 has been a very productive year for the project and all I can do is try to keep up the momentum.  In early January I returned to Bangladesh to follow up on my work on the stateless Rohingya.  And in April, with the support of Oxford Brookes University in the UK, I traveled to Sri Lanka to photograph the struggles of Hill Tamils working on the tea plantations in the central hills, many of whom continue to be stateless.

In June, POWER Magazine in Hong Kong ran a great photo essay and story of my work on the stateless Nubian community in Kenya.

Lastly, a photo essay from my work on the stateless Dalit in the Terai of southern Nepal, was just named the winner of the 2008 Harry Chapin Media Award (HCMA) for photojournalism (formerly called the World Hunger Media Award).  The essay, “Stranded In the Middle Ground” was published in the Himal Southasian Magazine in May of 2008.  Earlier this year, this essay also received an Honorable Mention: Best Published Picture Story (small markets) category in the 2009 NPPA Best of Photojournalism.  …

This summer and fall will be extremely busy and very productive for this project.  I’ll certainly keep you all posted with any new publications and developments.

One other item I would also note is that last month Greg was honored by the Asia Society with the Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia.  I’m pleased to extend our congratulations!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

In addition to the ongoing and very popular exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago, Florian Schulz is generating additional exposure for his project Freedom To Roam through his multi-media efforts. This new trailer for Freedom To Roam was presented at the AWL film festival, which marked the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

If you are a regular subscriber, you may have noticed that the Inside cover of the Spring 2009 issue of Aperture magazine (issue 194) features a project by the USA Network , entitled “American Characters.”  The Character Project is intended to celebrate “America’s characters-the interesting, dazzling, and distinctive people, from all walks of life, who make this country extraordinary.”

Blue Earth photographer Anna Mia Davidson, representing the Pacific Northwest, was one of the eleven photographers selected to participate in the project:

“The subject I chose for Character Project was the resurgence of sustainable farming in the Pacific Northwest.  The individuals who have embraced the movement to farm responsibly, despite the many obstacles they face, are bright, passionate, and inspiring characters.  Each photo shoot for this project was a personal journey into the lives of these farmers, and each journey was inspiring.”

Visit the Character Project to learn more about Davidson’s work and view a gallery of photos as well as to see the images taken by all the participating photographers.  (Warning: The link automatically launches a video with sound before redirecting to Davidson’s project page.  Oh, the joys of embedded flash!)

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Last week, the International Herald Tribune ran an article on the plight of the Rohingya in Burma.  The article features the works of Blue Earth project photographer Greg Constantine, including a large photo essay from his travels amongst Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh.  Part of his larger project on statelessness Nowhere People, the photos document the lives of an ethic minority facing terrible persecution at the hands of the military regime and in refugee camps across South Asia.

His images will also appear in a CNN International feature on the Rohingya in their World’s Untold Stories segment.  Constantine hopes “these images will provide both the public and policy makers a clearer understanding of who the Rohingya are and a better appreciation of the tragedy of their story.”

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch’s book How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming has won the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru/Science Magazine 2009 award as best “Middle Grades Science Book.”  This annual award was inaugurated to mark “outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults.”  Cherry and Braasch’s book has also won awards from the National Science Teachers Association and the School Library Journal.

In case you don’t have your own copy of Braasch’s other recent award-winning book Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World (which inspired the children’s book), note that a new paperback edition will be out in March 2009.  Be sure to visit the companion web site to the book Earth Under Fire or World View of Global Warming for more information.

Once again, congratulations to Gary from everyone at Blue Earth!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Melting of glaciers in the Bhutan-Himalaya.  Glacial lakes have been rapidly forming on the surface of the debris-covered glaciers in this region during the last few decades.  Photo courtesy of NASA Visible Earth

A recent article on aerial photography in Smashing Magazine reminded me of a wonderful resource, NASA’s Visible Earth.  NASA describes the project as a “catalog” of images of Earth, but that’s an understatement of this priceless repository of thousands of high resolution images and sensor data of our planet and its environment.  Even better, this ever growing collection includes satellite and high altitude images along with complete descriptions and relevant data for each.

Few images speak more clearly to the effects of global warming than that of new lakes spreading across the Himalayas generated by melting glaciers.  Even if NASA were to pursue no other mission, I think this effort alone would entirely justify their budget.

Though I still love the photographs from Mars mind you!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Santarem, Brazil, May 15, 2006.  Aerial view of the flooded area west of Santarem.  One of the most extreme droughts recorded in the Amazon was followed by one of the worst floods, straining the local population even further. © Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace

The Canon Professional Network has published an extensive profile of Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá.  One of the better known industry publications, CPN has been conducting its Behind the lens interview series profiling photographers working in many areas of the field, and being included in the series offers great exposure for his work.

The article highlights many examples of his cooperative projects with Greenpeace, ranging from the arctic to the Amazon, and provides an excellent example of his commitment to public education on environmental issues.

Read the article and view a large interactive gallery of Beltrá’s work.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

This previous week, Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee took part in the Gender on Ice Conference at the Barnard College of Columbia University in New York.  Sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women, the conference provided “critical feminist engagements with a newly exposed past, as well as more recent scholarship and art works that demonstrate a feminist opening of the territory of the polar regions.”

Benerjee’s article Land-as-Home: Environmental and Political Imperialism in the North was subsequently published in the Center’s journal, The Scholar and Feminist.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Exiled To Nowhere - Discriminatory citizenship laws imposed by the Burmese government have systematically stripped over one million Rohingya in the Rakhine state of western Burma of their citizenship. Blind in one eye after being beaten in the head during forced labor, the man fled from Burma in the mid 1990’s and is one of an estimated 100,000 stateless Rohingya now living in the southern part of neighboring Bangladesh. © Greg Constantine

Blue Earth photographer Greg Constantine’s project “Nowhere People” is profiled in the current, November 2008, issue of PDN magazine.  Constantine’s photographs provide a sensitive record of the effects of statelessness on the lives of people without citizenship in their own homes, or anywhere in the world – these individuals “for various reasons, are the unwanted and the unwelcome and are some of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised people in the world.”

In addition, a large multimedia gallery of his work in Burma from this past July surveying the damage wrought by cyclone Nargis was published by the International Herald Tribune and has been nominated for the UNICEF Photo of the Year Awards.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Looking for information about photographic techniques, tips, and software reviews?  Then you might like to know Blue Earth photographer Steve Simon is a contributor to the popular podcast This Week In Photography.  Co-hosted by Alex Lindsay and Scott Bourne, TWIP is an entertaining but very informative podcast on all things photography – cameras, techniques, software, developments, and more.  Both Lindsay and Bourne are experts in photography and computer graphics, and all the contributors are equally good at sharing the benefits of their experience in an approachable format.

And if you are a computer geek like me, you may also know Lindsay and Bourne as regulars on MacBreak Weekly, another favorite podcast.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager