Big fires are set to clear the rainforest jungle for soy plantation around Santarem in Para State, Brazil, Dec. 10, 2003. © Daniel Beltrá

Blue Earth will present the first lecture in a series on documentary photography that focuses on global environments, social, and cultural issues. One of our own project photographers Daniel Beltrá will initiate the series at the Henry Art Gallery on Saturday, November 8th at 2 p.m.  Beltrá will present his stunning, award-winning photographs of the threatened Amazon rainforest. His breathtaking images witness both the worst drought in living memory and the burning of thousands of acres of untouched rainforest.

Daniel Beltrá is the recipient of awards from the World Press Photo, China International Press, Pictures of the Year and the National Press Photographers Association. He was also recently admitted to the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers.

Tickets available at the door. Free to Blue Earth and Henry members; $10 non-members; $5 for students with ID.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

The American Society of Media Photographers presents Alejandro Tomás at the Seattle Central Community College, 1701 Broadway in Seattle on October 16th; doors open at 6 p.m.  Tomás will present his 26 year documentary “Who Rules US?” regarding an elite group of wealthy, powerful, American conservatives.  Tomás’ provocative images provide illustrated evidence of the conscious and deliberate forms of power abuse at play in our country, often hidden from public view but with far-reaching consequences.

Robert Semeniuk  presents a new exhibition “Chronic Emergency :  Malaria and Human Rights on the Burma/Thailand Border” as part of his Personalizing the World Health Crisis project at the Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts, 10210 108 Ave NW in Edmonton AB from September 6th – October 10th.  In his work, Semeniuk aims to give voice, hope, and dignity to the victims of infectious disease and humanizes the crisis by putting faces and personalities on these numbing statistics.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

In what is traditionally Blue Earth’s biggest event of the year, our 4th Annual Blue Earth Lottery fundraiser was held last evening, September 18, 2008 at the Palace Ballroom in downtown Seattle.  Every year the lottery fundraiser keeps getting better, and this year was no exception!

Lottery participants studied the catalog carefully before selecting their prints. Photo by Tim Matsui.

We’re pleased to report a sell-out crowd, with over 160 people attending.  Of those attendees, some sixty guests participated in the lottery, and each won the opportunity to select a print donated by world class photographers, many of whom were present that evening.  Three prints by Daniel Beltrá, Phil Borges, and Art Wolfe (who also was in attendance) were available in special live auctions during the lottery and were very well-received.

Local photographer and Blue Earth board member Chase Jarvis served as master of ceremonies keeping the evening fun. Photo by Tim Matsui.

The evening wasn’t just about having a good time, of course.  The lottery helped raise funds to support Blue Earth’s mission promoting documentary photography that increases public awareness of endangered cultures, threatened environments, and social concerns.  This year at the dinner, Blue Earth was pleased to award a $3,000 grant to Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele for their photographic work illustrating global climate change.

Our thanks goes out to the evening’s attendees as well as our members, supports, and volunteers who helped make the night such a wonderful occasion.  A special thank-you goes out to lottery donors and our hard-working, volunteer board members, without whom the lottery would not have been possible.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Update - A candid shot by Kristen Imig of Chase taking home the prize for “best emcee” after the evening’s festivities!

As many of our blog readers are up-and-coming documentary photographers, I wanted to highlight a unique opportunity upcoming very shortly.  The Project Uganda 2008 workshop is a great opportunity for documentary photographers to get their feet wet in the field.

The workshop will provide hands-on experience “with 10-15 working NGO’s in a real world, extended documentary scenario” in Africa.  Working on site in Uganda, “each student will meet with the instructors on a one-on-one basis to discuss their photography, their assigned NGOs and develop a strategy based on the student’s goals for the workshop.”  The workshop will take place from October 19- November 2, 2008, and registration is $4,026.  Applications will be reviewed individually.

They still have a couple of openings this year, so act fast!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Blue Earth Advisory Board member Jason Houston will be participating in The Art + Environment Conference at the Nevada Museum of Art, October 2-4, 2008.  The conference is intend to bring together “some of today’s most notable scientists, artists, architects and designers to begin a dialogue about the environmental connections between these disciplines.”

Serving as Picture Editor for Orion magazine, Jason continues his own work on social and environmental themes including food culture, the social landscape of suburban American family life, and a multi-media project documenting the grassroots campaigns of Rare Conservation in the developing tropics around the world.

Jason will be participating in the “what’s neXt: Artists Imagining the Future” panel moderated by Jeff Gordinier that will bring together “Gen X artists, designers, and writers whose work aspires to change the way people view and experience the world.”  If you are planning on attending the conference, don’t miss this session!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Though we were impressed that over sixty prints have been donated to the Blue Earth Annual Lottery this year (a record number I might add), it appears that demand for tickets for the event is even stronger. With the lottery and live auction of prints by such renowned nature photographers as Art Wolfe, we expect to sell out the lottery early once more.

Harbor Reflection, 2006 ©Art Wolfe

We are pleased that Art has this year donated a fine example of his recent work. Taken as a whole, his photographic work from the past three decades consists of a body of images that “interpret and record the world’s fast-disappearing wildlife, landscapes and native cultures.” His photographs demonstrate a “mastery of color, composition and perspective” and have been published in many books and respected journals.

If you would like to attend the lottery, our readers can purchase tickets today via our web site, by mail, or over the phone. Don’t miss out!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager