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| © Vance Martin |
| Cristina Mittermeier |
Cristina Mittermeier
Director of the International League of Conservation Photographers
On List Because: Her new organization could reshape how we all think of nature photography
Secret of Her Success: Passion informed by realism
Quote: "By practicing the highest ethical standards in respect to image acquisition and disclosure, we are seeking to assert our position as credible witnesses in reporting the state of the Earth to a wider public."
Website: conservationphotography.net
There was a time when a nature photograph could function simply as a thing of beauty, or art. The inconvenient truth now is that environmental concerns -- from shrinking natural habitats to global warming -- color the meaning of every nature photograph. No matter how beautiful or banal, such images stand as testament to what is at stake.
According to Cristina Mittermeier, a Mexican-born photographer and conservationist, the stakes are high -- for nature and for nature photography. Mittermeier believes that photographs can perform a central function in the effort to preserve natural places by bringing attention to endangered areas and species and by illustrating and explaining the work being done by wildlife and environmental scientists.
With those goals in mind, she helped create the International League of Conservation Photographers in 2005. In essence the group is a loose federation of many of the world's top nature and wildlife photographers (Jim Brandenburg, Joel Sartore, Jack Dykinga, Art Wolfe, Boyd Norton, Colin Prior, Patricio Robles Gil, David Doubilet, Flip Nicklin, Thomas Mangelsen, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Chris Rainier, and James Balog, to name a few) that disseminates information about conservation causes and promotes the projects of the individual members. But its real influence will likely come from the strict code of ethics it has adopted: The league's policies forbid digital manipulation of nature imagery and shooting wildlife on game farms. In addition, the organization brings together photographers and scientists to identify vital topics of concern.
Mittermeier is uniquely qualified for the task: A trained marine biologist as well as a photographer, she's also the wife of Dr. Russell Mittermeier, president of the influential environmental group Conservation International. She has already launched a number of book projects and shown work by the group's members at the Convention on Biological Diversity and other events. "We plan to replace environmental indifference with a new culture of stewardship and passion for our beautiful planet," she says.
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