Neil Ever Osborne

Delphin Ruche is one of my ILCP colleagues. He is a wildlife biologist who continues to be involved in science and conservation, both as an academic and a photographer. I am fortunate enough to be recognized on his guest of the month section on his website. You can learn more about Delphin and read about other guests he has featured here.

Daniel Beltrá (DB) is a Spanish photographer based in Seattle, Oregon, USA. Daniel brings the sensibility and craft of a news photographer to the fields of nature and the environment, making images which he hopes will spur greater respect and conservation of those subjects. He has documented several expeditions by Greenpeace to the Brazilian Amazon, the Arctic, the Southern Oceans and the Patagonian Ice Fields, among many others. In 2006, Daniel received awards from the World Press Photo (WPP) and China International Press Photo contests for his work on drought in the Amazon. In 2007, he won again in the WPP for photos of the Amazon. In 2008, Daniel was awarded the inaugural “Global Vision Award” from the Pictures of the Year International contest for work in the Ross Sea and the Amazon. He also won in the NPPA BOP contest and the LUCIE awards. This year, Daniel was awarded the Prince’s Rainforest Project given via the Sony World Photography Awards. The award, granted by Prince Charles, sent Daniel for three months to the Congo, Amazon and Indonesian rainforests to create photos for a book, website and traveling exhibition about the perilous fate that the world’s rainforests face. Daniel is a fellow of the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers. Learn more about Daniel here.

He shared the following thoughts about the emerging genre of conservation photography and his own work with me during a video interview I had with him this past year:

NEO: In your own words define what conservation photography might be?

DB: I think conservation photography is photography with a purpose. Basically its photography with a clear goal. I think this type of photography really tries to showcase environmental problems that are happening right now while motivating people to react to them.

NEO: What is the philosophy behind your work?

DB: I work a lot on climate change issues and deforestation and I am very interested in linking these two problems together. I want to translate what the scientists are putting on paper as a concept into images that are easier to understand by the public and I am hoping that this will help influence policy and change the direction we are heading. I work a lot with Greenpeace so many of my images are hoping to advance campaigns. I hope my photography is very practical. Working as a photojournalist I am really driven by issues that I think need to be solved sooner rather than later.

NEO: Why did you choose photography as the conduit to share your message?

DB: I loved photography but I really wasn’t thinking about this when I started studying biology. Both photography and biology started working together and then I found it to be a perfect tool. We are very visually driven and I find that photography in particular burns in the retina of people. Images make people think. I am really trying to find images that will shock the viewer into wondering what is happening and what they can do. Photography can be really shocking. I’m not so interested in showcasing the beauty of our planet. I’m more interested in making people aware of things that are happening and I think that’s where I have found my niche and that’s what I am relatively good at doing. I hope I can have an influence with this skill.

NEO: Describe the background of the conservation photographer?

DB: In my particular case, the background in biology is very important. Its very important to know the subjects. We were talking about translating science into images. Its also very important to have a background in photojournalism because its the immediacy of the image and I know what images are more interesting in that sense. As an example, when we talk about climate change or global warming, how do you explain in images something that is happening over a long period of time? This is the problem for the photographer. I need to figure out ways to translate that and my background in journalism helps me to choose which moments are better suited for the public to react to.

NEO: Can we quantify the value of the images conservation photographers produce?

DB: It is very difficult to quantify what your images are achieving. When I started working in climate change and global warming issues at the end of the 90’s I was up in the Arctic and I shot a picture of a walrus sitting on an ice float that was shaped like a mushroom. It was a thin piece of ice and so I have been accused of using Photoshop and putting the animal there. This image really brought a lot of global warming issues to the table and it got published really widely all over the world. It really grabbed a lot of attention. There were even radio and TV programs discussing how that picture could be faked so I ended up having to show my contact sheet because it was shot on film. I had to explain that there was a couple of other walruses sitting on the ice float and when we approached with our boat they jumped in the water the the ice raised and that very thin piece of ice broke a bit later. That image really brought a clear image that the ice was really melting. The work I do in the Amazon is also getting a lot of attention. At the end of 2005 there was a very serious drought in the Amazon and I had went to document that and got a collection of images. One thing is to put the problem out there and get people very interested but the other thing is to really quantify how much part of the solution we will be and what your influence will be.

NEO: Can these images be influential?

DB: I think images can be extremely influential. It’s very important to achieve the images that will showcase a problem very clearly and then they need to be exposed and presented to people who can make decisions or to the general public so they can influence people who can make decisions. That’s a dream of any photographer and that’s the direction I like to work.

NEO: Any concluding thoughts?

DB:  I hope that my images can express what I feel better than what I can say with words. The human brain is really wired to react to images and in that sense the best I can accomplish is to create those images that will really help expose a problem very clearly. When we talk about making a link between the science and whats happening on our planet and the perception that the general public might have, or what politicians might think. It’s really important to synthesize those problems with images. I am always talking about shocking people because I really want people to understand how important some of these issues are right now, not tomorrow, or in twenty years. Right now we have a very serious problem and we need to react quickly. That’s what drives me. Images are extremely powerful.

One of the most amazing people I know on this earth is my grandpa (GP).

You can now read more about my photography work on the iLCP profile page that was updated recently. View the link here.

First lecture this past Thursday on conservation photography. To my knowledge this is the first time a course like this will be offered in Canada. The students and I are excited.

Science and media unite in this ambitious adventure project that aims to shed light on a serious conservation issue. Check out the project here and then lend these lads a hand. Truly gifted people collaborating for all of us.

Look for a new magazine feature entitled “Please Don’t Feed the Turtles” in Spirituality and Health. This collaborative effort with J. Nichols and his wife Dana tells an intimate story about how we all can make smarter choices ultimately protecting wildlife.

LIVE from California Academy of Sciences has moved online but will continue to delivery the same great content as its printed predecessor. To learn about the move go here.

In the Anambas Islands, an archipelago of nearly 250 small islands in Indonesia, turtle eggs are considered a delicacy. Served either raw or boiled, the eggs sell for between 25 and 50 cents each at local bars and restaurants and can fetch higher prices when exported to cities like Singapore and Penang. For the five beach-front property owners of Durai Island – an important nesting site for both green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles in the Anambas – this means egg harvesting is big business. Over the past 40 years, however, the turtle population on Durai has declined by more than 75 percent. I accompanied Academy scientist J. Nichols, and worked with an incredible group of conservationists during a recent visit to the remote island to propose a more sustainable solution – for both the landowners and the turtles. Learn their stories here.

Dear friend Molly Steinwald was invited to give part of the closing remarks at Wild9. Incredible public speaker with insight we should all hear. Check out here. To learn more about Molly go to her website here.