If you are in New York during the next month, be sure to stop by the Pelham Art Center to see the exhibit “And For All This, Nature Is Never Spent,” curated by Professor Joanna Issac, featuring work by several artists including Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee.

And for all this, nature is never spent is an exhibition of contemporary artists working in a variety of nontraditional media, who have employed their talents in the service of environmental awareness, providing a variety of approaches and models of participatory engagement, designing solutions to environmental problems and broadening public concern for what is becoming the most pressing issue of our time, environmental degradation.

The exhibit runs from March 13-April 25, 2009 and was recently reviewed by Benjamin Genocchio in the New York Times.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Former Blue Earth project photographer Rebecca Norris Webb and Alex Webb will be conducting a Masterclass at the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle May 8-10, Friday 6-7:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m.  Registration is $450.  This is a great opportunity for local students of photography to learn from the best:

A workshop for amateurs and professionals alike, the weekend will begin with a “meet and greet” session on Friday night.  During this relaxed introduction, Alex & Rebecca will set the tone for the workshop and explain what students can expect during the weekend.  Reviews of each photographer’s work will begin on Saturday morning, serving as a jumping off point for a larger discussion about various photographic issues…

Participants should bring about 30 PRINTS (Please bring prints, NOT digital files. For those working digitally, it is fine to bring small work prints. The main focus is the image, NOT the quality of the print.).  Those working in series should bring a selection of photographs from two or three series or an excerpt from a long-term project.

Visit PCNW for full details and to register online.

As a special treat for everyone, they will also be giving a public lecture “Together and Apart: Photographs by Alex Webb & Rebecca Norris Webb” on Saturday, May 9, 7 p.m. at Wyckoff Auditorium on the Seattle University campus (across the street from PCNW).

Alex Webb has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1976.  Rebecca Norris Webb, originally a poet, is also a well-established photographer and editor.  Together, they form a dynamic creative team that often edits projects and books together, including their upcoming joint book, Violet Isle: A Duet of Photographs from Cuba.  During this lecture, the photographers will discuss individual and joint projects, as well as the nuances and realities of working and teaching around the world.

Free admission with a suggested donation of $8, $5 for PCNW students and members.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

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.

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

Miss Tourism pageant, Girardot, Colombia. © Carl Bower

Spectators often have a vicarious relationship with the queens, seeking the beauty, purity and simplicity absent in their daily lives.  A candidate’s failure to meet their high expectations is almost viewed as a personal afront, for she has robbed them of their moment of perfection.  Scorn flows as freely and vocally as praise.  Miss Tourism pageant, Girardot, Colombia. © Carl Bower

Preparing for Miss Rock pageant, Penol, Colombia. © Carl Bower

Blue Earth is pleased to announce that Carl Bower’s project “Chasing Cinderella: Beauty, Denial and Defiance in Colombian Pageants” is the winner of the first ever Blue Earth Prize For Best Project Photography at the PhotoAlliance 2009 Our World Portfolio Review, held March 13-15, 2009 in San Francisco.  This new award offered in partnership with PhotoAlliance provides recognition for photographic work best representing our mission: To raise awareness about endangered cultures, threatened environments and social concerns through photography. View a gallery of photos from his project.

Project Concept: The pageants of Colombia are a petri dish for examining the nature of beauty and how we cope with adversity.  Set against a backdrop of poverty, crime, and the hemisphere’s longest running civil war, nowhere are the contests more ubiquitous and revered than in Colombia.  In these carefully scripted shows of fantasy, beauty as a concept, commodity and singular goal is stripped to its raw elements.  There is no ambiguity or pretense that anything else matters.

The queens are celebrities.  Many of the roughly 400 contests a year can shut down a small town for days as thousands jam plazas and parade routes for a glimpse of them.  Icons of a rigidly defined ideal, the contestants highlight the conflated relationship between beauty and attraction.  Many of them seem familiar, stirring recollections of the same perfect features seen elsewhere, along with the identical flirtatious laughter, mock surprise and relentless optimism.  In their quest for adoration, they erase all traces of individuality.

While the inherent objectification of the contests and the values they convey to young women often provoke outrage and ridicule elsewhere, in the Colombian context the issue is more complicated.  The millions who pack stadiums and follow dozens of national contests on live television often have a vicarious relationship with the queens, clinging to the Cinderella fantasy of magically transcending poverty.

The popularity of the pageants ebbs and flows with the level of violence in the country.  The contests project an image of normalcy and vitality in the face of social upheaval and fear, a refusal to be defined by the violence or to live as if besieged.  In a country rife with conflict, the pageants are a form of both denial and defiance.  They are an escape, wholly frivolous and possibly essential.

Photographer Bio: Carl Bower is a documentary photographer based in Washington DC.  He went to Colombia following a two-year project documenting a close friend’s bout with breast cancer.  As she lost one breast, then the other, suffered successive rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow replacement, he saw that her presence seemed undiminished, if not stronger.  The experience forced him to examine his own notions of beauty and the ways we cope with events beyond our control.  By documenting the pageants and the mania surrounding them, he seeks to bring these abstract notions into sharper focus.

His work has been exhibited at the Washington Project for the Arts, the 505 Gallery, the Arlington Arts Center, the Washington Center for Photography, the Ellipse Arts Center, and the White Walls Gallery of the Corcoran School of Art.  His is a winner of the Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Clarion Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

Our congratulations to Carl!  View a gallery of photos from his project.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

If you are in the Seattle area this evening, don’t forget Blue Earth project photographer Subhankar Banerjee is speaking tonight as part of the Diversity in the Outdoors Tour.  Banerjee will be joined by environmental and human rights activist Winona LaDuke at the Rainier Beach High School (8815 Seward Park Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98118), March 18th at 7 p.m.  The event this evening is sponsored by the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project, the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and Passages Northwest.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele

Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele on stage at the Henry presenting their project Facing Climate Change.

After the formal Q & A session, Benj and Sara stayed late to speak with attendees.

In the third lecture in our new series highlighting documentary photography, Blue Earth project photographer Benjamin Drummond and writer Sara Joy Steele impressed the crowds at the Henry Art Gallery this past weekend.  Participants in the auditorium Saturday saw some of their most recent work with firefighters in the Western US, heard personal stories from the field, and engaged in what turned out to be a wide-ranging and thoughtful dialog.  Their recent work has included profiles of Sámi reindeer herders in Norway, volunteer glacier monitors in Iceland, and fishermen in the North Atlantic.  The effects of global warming are sometimes difficult to place in concrete, human terms; Facing Climate Change does an amazing job of bringing a global crisis to the personal level.

Scheduled lectures in this ongoing series include current and former Blue Earth photographers.  Our next lecture will feature Tim Matsui on May 9, 2009.

All lectures are held Saturdays, 2 p.m.at the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium, 15th Ave NE & 41st Street in Seattle.  Admission is free for Henry Art Gallery 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

The Colorado River Aqueduct passes through the desert of Southern California east of Joshua Tree National Park. © John Trotter

When stopping by the Blue Earth website, regular visitors may have noticed that we feature selected projects on our home page.   This is a standard practice, but I just wanted to note that this month we have something special, the public premier of a new image from John Trotter for his project No Agua, No Vida: The Thirsty Colorado River Delta.  This new panoramic image “was taken along the Colorado River Aqueduct, which carries water taken from the river at Lake Havasu over 200 miles across the hottest desert in the U.S. to California’s coastal cities.”   Trotter’s project on the Colorado River continues and is an important examination of the effects of human development in a fragile ecosystem.   I, for one, look forward to viewing his new work as the project develops.

See additional images from No Agua, No Vida.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

© Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele

Don’t forget to mark your calendars!  This coming Saturday Blue Earth is hosting Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele presenting Facing Climate Change, the third lecture in our new series on documentary photography that focuses on global environments, social, and cultural issues.  Benj and Sara will be speaking in Seattle, WA at the Henry Art Gallery on Saturday, March 14th at 2 p.m.  Q & A follows the presentation.

All Blue Earth lectures are held Saturdays, 2 p.m.at the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium, 15th Ave NE & 41st Street in Seattle.  Admission is free for Henry Art Gallery 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

We are very pleased to note that the National Women’s History Project has named Blue Earth photographer Tammy Cromer-Campbell as one of their “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.”  This honor is part of their celebration of National Women’s History Month and highlights “the important work of women in the on-going ‘green movement.’”  Other honorees include Hillary Clinton, Amy Goodman, Jane Goodall, and Lois Gibbs.

Blue Earth project photographer Daniel Beltrá has won another distinguished award, this time from Pictures Of The Year International.  This year, he was granted the “Award of Excellence” in the Magazine Issue Reporting Picture Story category for his work in the Amazon.  View a small slideshow of his images from the competition.

Once again, I find myself extending “congratulations” to our photographers!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Board members Rich, Larry, and Pam (our gracious host for the day) reviewing the paperwork.

Heather Joy, Adam, and Peter discussing projects during a break.

Chase and Nadine kept everyone up-to-date by tweeting major decisions during the meeting. All photos by Heather Dwyer.

The term “retreat” implies a leisurely, relaxing day at the spa – not a 10 hour work marathon!  But that’s what the Blue Earth Board of Directors did this past weekend, sacrificing their time off for a long workday at our annual planning session.  We accomplished a lot this weekend: making plans for new lectures, making key decisions, preparing new educational resources, reviewing current projects, preparing to review new projects…

Our Board is a dedicated group of volunteers, and I can’t thank them enough for their commitment to Blue Earth and their service to our project photographers!

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager (more…)

I’m happy to report that during our annual planning retreat this past weekend, the Blue Earth Board of Directors voted unanimously to lower our administrative fee for all sponsored projects to 4%.  Effective immediately, all our sponsored projects will benefit from the lower rate.

If you follow Blue Earth board member Chase Jarvis on Twitter, you probably already know this - he was so excited about the change, he couldn’t resist sending out a tweet during the meeting!

Our mission has always included a strong commitment to supporting project photographers, and, especially in the face of a challenging economy, we are always seeking ways to improve our efficiency and expand our direct assistance to photographers.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager

Bryan Hannah, an Iraq war veteran and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, remembers the life a fellow soldier and friend at a memorial on Fort Hood, in central Texas. © Jon Orlando

“I raised my rifle… and I took the slack out of the trigger.  I was getting ready to fire and their car came to a halting stop. The back window was down and I saw the little red dot was on a little girl’s forehead, and I realized I was aiming a rifle at a little girl.  And I saw her crying.  I didn’t want to do anything but to freeze everything so I could just get out and hold her and tell her everything would be ok.”  Bryan Hannah, Iraq War Veteran.

I’m currently in Austin, Texas working on my Warriors for Peace series documenting the transformation of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are now opposed to war.  Over the last several days I’ve heard far too many stories like the one above, several that didn’t end till after the trigger was pulled.

Last night I was talking with Rooster Romriel, who served in Sadr City and Baghdad, and he said “some would say war is hell. I disagree.  You have a certain amount of control over whether or not you wind up in hell.  The people of Iraq had no choice. The best word I can use to describe war is…inhumane.  It’s the opposite of everything we are supposed to be.”  I would agree. It seems many of the veterans I’m working with are fighting for their own humanity, or maybe I should say the right to embrace their humanity, as much as they are for an end to the wars.  Midst war, a military machine, and a society all too willing to ignore the effects of war (all three the epitome of inhumane) they have had the courage to choose a different path.

My emotions continue to shift from sad, to angry, to inspired as I continue to listen to stories of destruction, apathy, and transformation.  Tomorrow I head to Houston to work with a couple veterans over there, one who was serving at Guantanamo Bay when the first detainees arrived.  From there it’s on to Savannah, Georgia where I’ll be attending the Iraq Veterans Against the War regional conference and working with as many veterans as I can from the southeast.

Jon Orlando

Jon Orlando is a new Blue Earth project photographer, accepted in the fall of 2008.  We are pleased to introduce his first post as a contributor to our blog.  He is on the road throughout this month continuing work for his project Warriors for Peace.

Local Seattle photographer Natalie Fobes, and co-founder of Blue Earth, will be speaking at REI Seattle this week on Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. in a special event marking big spill’s 20th anniversary.  Working for National Geographic, Natalie Fobes was one of the first photographers at the site immediately after the spill.  Natalie’s presentation will include excerpts from her personal journals as well as her award-winning photographs.  Also speaking that evening at REI will be author-activist Dr.Riki Ott.

“Remembering The Exxon Valdez: 20 Years Later, What Have We Learned?” is sponsored by People For Puget Sound.  Admission is $6 People For Puget Sound members, $8 non-members.  For tickets and reservations, please contact Jamie Wine at wine@pugetsound.org or (206) 382-7007.

- Bart J. Cannon, Program Manager