Siberia is Melting

Photographer

Camille Seaman

Concept

Siberia is quickly becoming both the symbol and the litmus test for most of our environmental concerns. Yet so little, if anything at all, exists as a visual record of this historic change.

As Siberian permafrost melts, natural methane below the surface, which is twenty three times more potent than Carbon Dioxide, is rising to the surface. It is surfacing after being buried below the earth for over 11,000 years. The rate at which this gas is being released is five times what scientists anticipated. The upshot of this change is that Siberia is heating up faster than anywhere else on earth. On many levels the effort to document Siberia and its alarming shifts is beginning to seem like the culmination of a deeply personal journey. Repeated trips to photograph the Arctic and Antarctic over the decade are drawing me inexorably to the top of world, the last outpost if you will, and the very axis about which both the earth and my own modest concerns revolve. We are losing this place. Words strain to capture the visual discord in the land the sheer brutal beauty that provokes so much awe, so much concern.

Biography

Camille Seaman (Shinnecock Tribe b.1969) is an Award winning American photographer best known for her evocative Polar images. Capturing the essence of awe and beauty of indigenous cultures and environments, in a sophisticated documentary/fine art tradition is her trademark. Camille has traveled to over 30 countries creating timeless images. Seaman's work has been exhibited and published in magazines internationally.

Seaman's career was launched when she traveled north to the Arctic in 2003 where she made stunning photographs of the little known island of Svalbard and its Arctic environment. She often teaches workshops on Photography and self-publishing.

www.camilleseaman.com

Project Updates

January 2008

Camille has a show with Lisa M. Robinson at PCNW in Seattle (900 12th Avenue). It runs from January 19-February 27.
There will be a reception on Friday, February 1 from 6-9pm, and a lecture at 6:30.

View by Project View by Photographer