And Here We Are- Stories From the Sixth Extinction

“And Here We Are - A Nature Story” examines the current condition of our rapidly changing landscape, the punishing impact of non-native and invasive species and the fragile places where man and nature collide. Each photograph in this series presents its own protagonist in a distinct environment. While every image tells its own cautionary tale, the entire collection of photographs depicts the larger story of humanity’s often overlooked impacts. Light and sound pollution, fences, roadways, water diversions, globalization vectors in the movement of goods, deforestation, newly introduced resource competition by invasive species and innumerable other recent changes have made much of our planet unrecognizable to the existing instincts and genetic memory of countless species. Shooting at nighttime visually isolates my subjects from their environment and allows me to illustrate the distress on an individual life sans all of the sunsets and mood lighting we often associate with nature photography. I want the viewer not to feel that “trees are dying because of a particular insect,” but rather “this beautiful, exact organism is imperiled because of X and Y.” The darkness which surrounds my subjects is also analogous to the lack of familiarity and inability for organisms to recognize and adapt to the new world around them. In my works I strive to walk the line between a scientist displaying well-researched specimens and evidence and that of a visual artist whose work is captivating enough for an audience to want to engage with and learn from it.