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Shaliz Barzani: The Photo Ark: A Last Chance for Animals Through Photography
Joel Sartore has been a long time photographer for the National Geographic. But when his wife battled breast cancer, he realized how little time we really have in our lives--and he thought about animals too. That's when he made it his life's mission to photograph as many animal species as he can, before they go extinct. But by no means is it an easy job. Sartore explains how he's missed seven of his daughter's birthdays, has worked twelve-hour days, spends days to weeks trying to get the perfect shot of just one species, and even faces the physical challenges of working with wildlife. Regardless, I think it is wonderful what Sartore is doing. I feel like photojournalism is often taken for granted, as basically everything we see that's not from our own eyes is through a photo or video. How is it that one small device can capture and forever hold onto that moment, and then make a physical copy of it? Sartore's mission is absolutely wonderful and opens eyes to the dangers we have and still are causing these beautiful creatures. He is using his photography to capture the animals and their emotions, for it to hopefully be a wakeup call to help prevent these creatures from going extinct.
Questions:
Do you think a photography movement will actually help raise awareness of the rate at which animals are going instinct? A lot of important issues are on social media, but they are often scrolled past and disregarded...
What makes Sartore's mission so special?
What other ways do you think the word and direness of this situation could get out?
Is this a challenge / job you would take on, if you could?
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ReplyDeleteI think this project could raise awareness for these endangered animals. It definitely seems like a very taxing but rewarding job. Photographs can be a very effective medium to establish an emotional response from the viewer especially in a situation like this, because not only is the viewer seeing the beauty of the animal, but they are also seeing what the world could lose. I think by showing the at-risk animal, it allows the viewer to gain a sense of responsibility in taking care of the endangered animal, and that is what makes this project so special.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that stuck out to me in this article, was how these photographs reminded me of the pictures at the beginning of chapters in Silent Spring. In Carson’s novel, the pictures helped the reader to picture what the reader stood to lose with the use of pesticides. I wonder how the book would have changed if someone like Sartore would have photographed the detrimental effects of pesticides and added them to the book.
While I agree that photos can bring about an emotional response, I am slightly skeptical. Maybe I overlooked something, but this man who has enough money to travel the world simply for photos of animals in captivity, does not seem to be using them to start one singular movement. I read it as he is using his photos in order to spur others into conservation efforts, however, these animals he photographed are already in captivity and therefore under the protection of conservationists. I feel like this is simply one very tiny tiny piece of a much larger puzzle that goes way beyond a few thousand photos of already protected animals. Maybe if he applied his photos to areas where the illegal trade market endangers many of lesser known species, like pangolins, then this could spur a true movement towards change. Also, I have seen photographers who seek to capture the destruction and devastation of poaching in Africa, which definitely invokes people's empathy and desire to improve care for biodiversity.
ReplyDeleteI think that to some extent these photos can raise awareness for endangered species. However, I wonder if they are being used to their fullest capacity, like Maryella mentions; maybe, these photos in addition to being included in publications could be shown in areas that are more susceptible to harming these species. Sure, photos appearing on the Empire State Building and the Vatican can call some to take action, but these photos could be more immediately effective in places where the animals are going extinct. Furthermore, though I appreciate how Joel Sartore mentions that he has each animal fill up the entire frame to give them an “equal voice,” he could go further with his work. He mentions that after taking a certain picture of a Luzon Warty Pig, he does not “ever need to photograph this species again,” a concerning idea seeing that one photo cannot possibly raise the amount of awareness needed to help this species. Also, when asked how knowing an animal will not anymore shortly after he takes the picture affects him, Sartore only says that it makes him “sad” but still feels inspired to continue taking pictures. I wonder why Sartore would not feel more of an incessant need to protect these species, why he seems to accept so readily the inevitably of their extinction rather than having a sense of urgency to protect. Overall, I find validity in photos and other forms of art raising awareness, but these photos should be used to their fullest capacity to maximize awareness raised.
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