Forests are an integral part of our lives and our future. But unless we can see them as more than an environmental issue, their future may be in jeopardy. See the project at http://www.un.org/esa/forests/
Here’s a new multimedia piece from the team at MediaStorm that I thought readers here would like to view.
In the run up to the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, MediaStorm were asked to produce this video which would highlight the importance of forests and their role in our global ecosystem.
From the MediaStorm Site:
“Part of the UNFF’s mission is to change the way policymakers view forest-related issues. Previously forest preservation was considered an environmental issue. In order to create more lasting and far-reaching change, the UNFF believes it is necessary to also include social and economic values in all discussions. Forests are, in many complicated ways, interconnected with the lives of people and cultures. This landscape view is critical and therefore needed to be an integral part of the project.”
It’s a beautiful video with some dreamlike sequences and stunning images, whilst retaining a strong and important message. Take 15 minutes of your day to watch it.
If you can spot which images of mine are in there, I will take my hat off to you!
A quick post to let you know of a new multimedia production that I just launched late last week looking at the challenges facing China Forests. Followers of my work will know that I began work on this topic late last summer with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I was very happy when the Asia Society’s China Green indicated their interest in helping make this become a multimedia project which we launched together recently.
Above is the video embedded fro YouTube, but I also encourage you to visit the China Green website and look around. They have some great work looking at various environmental issues in China. To watch the video in max. 1920×1080 HD quality (recommended!), head over to my Vimeo channel.
Followers here will know that last summer I embarked on a trip to China’s southern province of Sichuan, to report on the threats to China’s forests for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. In case you missed it, here is a link to the main reporting page on the Pulitzer Center website.
I’m delighted to be collaborating with the Asia Society and China Green again on a new multimedia piece which will be launching soon. My first collaboration with China Green was when we brought together seven multimedia pieces, focused on China’s wetlands. Our new multimedia will be bringing together stills, video and interviews from my travels last summer, highlighting the current state of China’s fragile forests.
A quick post here to let you know of a new video that has just been released by the Asia Society, focusing on my work over the past few years on China’s environmental crises. It was put together by Shreeya Sinha, who is an excellent multimedia journalist in her own right, and recorded when I was in New York a few months ago. The video provides a pretty concise view of my work and what I have been trying to do whilst covering these issues in China. Hope you enjoy!
Beijing-based videographer and photographer Sean Gallagher has been documenting China’s environmental problems from various perspectives since 2006 — covering everything from wetland disappearance, desertification, air pollution, to endangered species like the giant panda. Often backed by Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Gallagher has raised awareness about the global impact of China’s rapid development.
Gallagher points to China’s desertification problem, which parallels similar issues in North Africa and Australia, as one example of a topic he’s covered that resonates worldwide. “These are issues affecting everybody and it’s incredibly important that we realize the impact we are having on our ecosystems and bio-diversity.”
The multimedia profile above encompasses the wide range of Gallagher’s reporting in photography and video, and offers a personal account of what it’s like to be a freelance journalist in China.
Earlier this year, I was invited by the British Council to take part in a series of talks in China, presenting my work on documenting the country’s environmental issues to over 300 students at Shanghai’s prestigious Tongji University. I was honored to be part of this series promoting the work of British figures, as previous speakers have included people such as entrepreneur Richard Branson and actor Patrick Stewart.
Next week, I go back on the road again to take part in the same series of talks, this time visiting the cities of Shenyang and Chongqing. It will be an exciting opportunity to speak to new audiences in new cities and bring the message of environmental awareness through photography and multimedia.
If you happen to be in those cities next week, I shall be speaking in Shenyang on Wednesday 21st September and in Chongqing on Thursday 22nd September. You can book your place here.
In light of my recent travels for the Pulitzer Center and new multimedia, I’ll have a new presentation to give, however here is a video of my first presentation in Shanghai earlier this year, to give you an idea of the things that I’ll be talking about.
“24 Events…24 Time Zones…24 Hours of Reality Droughts, floods, heat waves, insect outbreaks, wildfires, sea level rise – we are encountering the reality of our changing climate every day. Five years after the theatrical release of An Inconvenient Truth, Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore will host an international event that brings the world together in a critical moment of global consciousness to deliver the message: The climate crisis is real, and it’s already happening.”
Whichever time zone you are in, please tune in to this 24-hour broadcast and listen to the incredibly important lectures outlining the impacts of climate change on our world.
Get the evidence. Accept the reality of our changing climate. Take action.
This week the Asia Society and I launched a new collaborative project which brings together 4(!) brand new multimedia pieces, focusing on my Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on issues surrounding the disspaearance of China’s wetlands.
As regular readers here will know, this is is a project that I began last year and have continued to develop, this time with the assistance of the Asia Society.
I am excited to launch this new portal as it brings together all 7 multimedia pieces from across China, giving viewers a new in-depth look at the country’s wetlands.
You can dip in and view one or two pieces, or go for the full experience and watch all seven. Either way, I very much hope you enjoy the pieces and they help you to understand some of the complex issues which are affecting and threatening the country’s waterways.
If you have any questions at all about the production, please feel free to ask them blow in the comments section.
I am really delighted to share the news here on my blog that my multimedia piece, ‘Dongting: A Lake In Flux” recently won 1st Prize in the prestigious British Press Photographer’s Year 2011. These awards highlight some of the best wotk from British photographers working around the world, so am honoured to be included in their list of awardees this year. I am also especially grateful to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting who sponsored the production of this work last year, as part of my Threatened Waters Project.
An exhibition of all the awarded work is now on at the National Theatre in London and runs from the 18th July to the 4th September. If you’re passing by, drop in and see some of the incredible work on show.
I’ve been debating with myself over the past week whether or not to write a post on the subject of the loss of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros. I did not known these men personally. I coincidentally know many of their friends very well but I had never been lucky enough to meet them myself. I knew of Tim due to his reputation within photojournalism but I am afriad I was not familiar with the work of Chris Hondros before the tragic events in Libya on 20th April. I was deeply saddened in knowing the world of photojournalism had lost these two men. Having seen many of the heartfelt dedications coming out to these men from close friends and colleagues, I felt it was inappropriate for me to comment since I did not know them.
I felt I needed to write this post today however, as last night I finally had the opportunity to watch two pieces of work by Tim Hetherington that I felt compelled to share here. The first, is the movie Restrepo, made by Hetherington and his co-director, Sebastian Junger. Set in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, the movie focuses on the lives of one platoon whom the filmamkers followed for a year, documenting their engagements and experiences dealing with war. To say it’s a powerful film is an complete understatement. It’s one of the most powerful movies about war I have ever seen.
The second piece of work that I felt compelled to share was ‘Sleeping Soldiers’, a conceptual piece by Hetherington focusing on images he has taken, literally of sleeping soldiers, overlayed with video footage of combat situations in Afghanistan. The resulting piece of work is what I believe is a pardigm-shift in storytelling from a photojournalism perspective. It’s hard not to be engaged and at the same time disturbed when watching this short piece. I felt like I was being thrust into the traumatic and turbulent dreams that men who suffer war must endure. I have never seen work like this before presented in such a way.
So, as a small dedication to these men I can only offer links to their work and spread the messages that they were trying to communicate to the world. This is what we as photographers and storytellers all try to do. Spread the word. Tell untold stories. Illuminate darker places. Work for some kind of change for the good. These two men were at the forefront of our industry trying to do that.
Link to Chris Hondros’s Website | Parting Glance: Colleagues and Friends Remember Chris Hondros – New York Times
For a complete list of links to dedications and tributes to Hetherington, Hondros and their work, please visit Photojournalism Links and DVA Foto
Came across a very interesting article on the BBC website this morning titled “Africa through a Lens”, that I wanted to share with you and spread the message about. According to the article…
“Thousands of old photographs from across Africa – as seen by British colonial staff stationed there – have been digitised by The NationalArchives and put online, in the hope that the public can help identify some of the people, places and customs captured on film.”
There’s a 4 minute slideshow which runs through the pictures with a commentary by presenters on BBC Radio 4. It’s well worth 4 minutes of your time.
Some of the images reminded me of the work of the great George Rodger, one of the founding members of Magnum (under-rated and overlooked a lot, in my opinion) and his work in Africa. You can view his profile on the Magnum site here.
Welcome to the blog of Sean Gallagher, a British environmental photojournalist, videographer and multimedia producer based in Beijing, China.
Sean specializes in covering environmental issues in Asia, documenting the conflicts between nature and humanity.
Sean's work has featured in news outlets including Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel. He is also a contributing photographer to the National Geographic Image Collection.
