My photographic practice has been influenced by my research (both contextual and visual), conversations with peers, and ideas developed from everyday encounters. In my practice, I have tried to take on a variety of angles to visually bring about awareness of our negative impact on our marine ecosystems and express the need for change. I have used/plan to use tactics such as:
- Showcasing the beauty of are marine world that we need to preserve
- Visual of plastic pollution as evidence of human impact negatively impacting our seas
- Presenting our artificial replacements for marine ecosystems (with the idea that the natural world may become all but a memory and the artificial waterways could become our only option in the future)
- Exhibiting the connection the ocean has one our world half over/ half undershots that merge both environments as a whole
- Images of those fighting for the protecting of our coast, oceans and marine life (via protesters, policy makers, beach cleanups, scientists)
- Portraying those connected and primarily reliant on the oceans (fishermen/ spearfishermen, surfers, sailors, free divers, scuba divers)
- Personifying the oceans through its moods, emotions and physique– utilizing the time of day, wave intensity, texture of coastline
- Depicting the emotions people feel when close to the ocean (comfort, fear, depth, confusion)
- Rendering symbolism in its disappearance and suffering through abstract forms (broken glass, fragments of a puzzle, torn page/chapter)
Fragments Of Our Memories
April 2024
The three images below show the abstract symbolism I experimented with to convey the damage done to our nature world. They explore the torn chapter of the anthropocene, the broken pieces of our ecosystem that needs mending together (play on a puzzling topic and worrisome predicament), and the shattered state of the natural world as change is occuring at a rapid rate. Each method signaling a cause for concern and awareness to the problem.
The fourth image is an attempt to draw on behavior. I would incorporate QR codes that link to not only more information on the matter, but also to various petitions and donation entries via trusted foundations like Surfrider, Patagonia, SeaLegacy, Ocean Blue Project that call on the public to sign and share their voice for change with policy makers.
Other ideas not shown include using anamorphic images to show a skewed perspective and/or optical illusions to represent how the scene is misleading. Another idea was to layer an "awe" provoking image over one of waste and disgust, then punching a hole through the top layer to show what lies underneath the facade.
"Stop the Blast"
March 19 -24, 2024
On March 24th, hundreds of surfers gathered on Torquay Beach to protect the Southern Sea from one of the world's largest offshore drilling projects. The seismic blasting would wreak havoc on the marine life and coastline. Many of the species found in the southern ocean are not found anywhere else, and the impact of these blasts would destroy the ecosystems of animals as small as the abalone to as large as the blue whale. The impact of the paddle has delayed the project, with chances of stopping it all together. In one afternoon a community was able to change the course of the multinational corporation TGS, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world.
Man"kind"
March 29, 2024
In search of connection, beauty and the divide. In my research I came across the topics of "awe" and an images power to elicit emotional reactions from its viewers to derive change. This could be from its beauty or it familiarity, along with many other factors. Additionally, an image can emotionally attach to its viewers through its relatability in texture and intensity – the calm sea is a tranquil mood, the curves of kelp or indents of the sand just like our own bodies. There is also the subtle images of destruction and death through pollution, like the cigarette next to the fallen feather. These images speak to mankind's current relationship with nature. The use and abuse of nature – though it is essential to our survive, human beings are not putting the environments' needs first to preserve it for future generations.
Creating an ironic play on the word man "kind".
The Sense of Motion
April 14, 2024
Desensitization. One of the largest culprits in visual narration. Even the most shocking and emotionally evoking images are at risk of becoming numbing and desensitized to their viewers due to continual exposure. A massive challenge for conservation photographers is providing fresh perspectives that push for change on a topic that is slow to resolve.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) manage to do just this when they partnered with the UK's The Telegraph in an April Fools prank back in 2017. The posted an article titled "Polar bears spotted in Scotland as animals flee melting Arctic ice cap." The image of the polar bear, which they stated was "were captured by a dog walker on North Uist" went viral. Though it was revealed the next day to be a hoax, it brought about real discussion around the UK on climate change through bringing the topic to their home base.
Using abstract imagery and reflections, I hope to generate ideas on the topic of climate change and the ever closing gap between nature and artifucal replacements. As we drift towards building new artificial replicas instead of solving our current issue, we may only be left with the memories of natural elements that once stood in its place.
The images play on the mood of distress through chaotic motion and tampered water, as well as the reflections of what was lost.
Esteemed to Exploited: Sea Country Adrift
April 20, 2024
What was once sacred aboriginal land, is now a tourist hotspot with pollution around every corner. In early March I joined the High Line Surf Fest in Torquay that brought women to pay their respects to the Wadawurrung people and sea Country, as well as create a community for women to push for positive change in the ocean and surf community for the female representation. During this festival I had to great pleasure of joining Corrina Eccles, the Cultural Strengthening General Manager for the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Corrina is committed to sharing her cultural heritage and stories with her community to educate residents and visitors on the importance of this coastland.
Corrina stated that she only educates through verbal narration as it encourages interactions and questions that a written statement would not offer. She spoke about the significance of Torquay Beach and the elements it offers, such as ochre for sunscreen, purslane for eating, and the dunes for protection. She discussed the pain she feels when she witnesses the careless destruction brought to the dunes where First Nation people once set up camp and the pollution in the streams that were once pure. She explained that there is still evidence of her culture present in Torquay, but it is being diminished by the impact of naive visitors.
Much of my research on climate change encourages the public to listen to the original land owners of their country. For Australia, the Aboriginals are one of the best resources for understanding a mutualistic relationship between mankind and country.
These images speak to the change in relationship as the land has shifted from esteemed to exploited.
A Walk Through Our Neighborhood
May 3 2024
I ventured less than a kilometer and witnessed the abundance of debris casted in the Yarra River. Bikes, helmets, bottles, packing, trolleys and more were observed without even stepping foot in the river. Though efforts are in place to detox the waterways through organizations like Regen Melbourne, the problem can only truly be fixed when each member of the Melbourne community plays their part in keeping their waste (both kinds as there is rubbish and E. Coli within the Yarra) out of the water. In order to get community members on board, they need to be reminded that the river is a living entity that also impacts our own own health and biodiversity.
Here is a graph designed by Clean Hub on the top 10 pollutants found in our waterways, with many of those mentioned visible in the Yarra River in Melbourne.
Images below show the darkside of one of Melbourne's most popular districts.
Little Penguins St. Kilda
(and soon to be Fur Seals Phillip Island)
May 2024
In May, I met with Dr. Richard Reina, a marine biology professor at Monash University. We spoke for about an hour on climate change, its impact in the media, on marine life, and the environment here in Melbourne. He connected me with two of his PhD students – Julia Braga Morais and Adam Yaney-Keller.
Julia analyzes how environmental changes influence the little penguins of St. Kilda's foraging and breeding performance. Her study focuses on their spatial distribution, dietary diversity, diving behavior and reproductive outcome. The population of the urban penguins was once regularly surveyed by Earthcare, an organization built roughly 30 years ago by a group of local volunteers.
Despite the groups expansion over the years and intentions to research and protect the Little Penguin colony, the data has been inconsistent and therefore not completely reliable. Today Earthcare is collaborating with Julia (and her supervisors Richard Reina and Andre Chiaradia) to develop a new monitoring program that accurately estimates the penguin population.
For the last two years Julia has monitored the colony through tagging nests and birds, taking blood samples, checking nest attendance, using trail cameras at night, and studying their reproductive success. Her work looks at the penguin ecology and understanding the influence of the Yarra River in relation to the bay.
Though there are many potential stressors, the St Kilda colony is increasing, in part due to their resilience and adaptability, as well as the protection and reliable food source the enclosed bay provides. However, the penguins are not immune to the impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities that can affect their food supply, cause behavioral changes, and their ability to survive.
Julia’s current findings:
- increase of mercury in the blood samples
- potential increase in leucism or worse, the feathers are drying out due to irregularity in molting
- changes in breeding times
Adam analyzes the impact plastic entanglement has on marine predators like the Australian fur seals at Seal Rocks, off Phillip Island. He studies the effects it has on their health (through physiological markers of stress) and behavior (via accelerometry, time-depth-recorders, and GPS tracking) on an individual level and colony wide – with a particular interest on the understudied impact it has on the juveniles. The young seals are most at risk with entanglement as they are more curious at that age and will grow – causing the entanglement to restrict them from feeding, moving and breeding, leading to an early death. Adding to this challenge is the regulations in place for who can visit the sea colony and the resources required to rescue them. Furthermore, fishing lines, which make up 69% of the entanglements, is difficult to detect by drone or boat. Therefore, it is vital to reduce the number of recreational fishing debris around Seal Rocks. Adam is originally from the U.S. but has worked with wildlife all over the world – raptors in Belize, sea turtles in Costa Rica, lemurs in Madagascar, and primates and sea turtles in Equatorial Guinea. While completing his master’s at Purdue University, Adam used drones footage and camera traps to aid his research.
Adam uses a similar method today – through thermal-imaging drones that better detect and account for entanglement within the population. , along with trackers, and missions to rescue and rehabilitate entangled seals. to analyze the welfare of the seals and determine a solution to the growing issue. The colony’s proximity to popular commercial and recreational fishing locations and urban areas has posed a real threat. Unfortunately, only 50% of those affected can be saved. As more data is collected, and more groups aid in the project, more government regulations can be put in place.
Logistical challenges have posed a challenge in me joining these two in their field work. Regulations with the animal ethics group and the q-fever virus detected on seals rock. Nevertheless, there are solutions in the making to combat these issues.
June 8, 2024
I volunteered with the organization Beach Patrol on an early saturday morning to help clean St. Kilda beach. I met a handful of locals, of all ages, joining in the cause. The majority of us walked around for an hour. We found plastic straws, plastic bottles, plastic bags and microplastics, as well as cigarettes, wrappers, shoes, socks and more. I met a wonderful and charming lady named Sue who let me take her, and her dog Maggie's, photo. I met a group of friend in their young 20's from Port Campbell, and others from the Mornington Peninsula – all of whom came together to clean up the beach for an hour. At the end, the trask is weighed, sorted and placed in bins. Throughout this year, the 3207 chapter has collected nearly 500kgs in trash. This group meets every other saturday, cleaning one of its five stretches of beach around St. Kilda.
West Gate Park
June 8, 2024
What is now a green oasis, was once described as a "scrofulous scenery" by The Age in 1979. It had "dead water, swamp, sick factories, dead wood, haze, gasping barges, wretched refineries, wheezing chimneys, dead grass, institutional putrification." As the construction of the West Gate Bridge came to a close, the chair of the West Gate Bridge Authority, the Oscar Meyer, had a vision of turning the land under the bridge into a park. In 1984 work began to turn this suffering land into a park. An abundance of rubble and soil were transported in, and a third of the site was formed into lakes. The lakes were mostly shallow since they were not fed by natural water courses. This eventually led to water levels dropping and water quality becoming poor. Australia flora from Western Australia was planted throughout the park, overtaking the indigenous vegetation. Money for the park began to run out leaving out intended attraction and visitation was low due to its distance from residential communities. The park was then passed over to various organizations, with little interest shown by the managers of Melbourne Parks & Waterways. Eventually the neglected park turn into weeds, rabbits and foxes overpopulated, mountain bikers took to carving tracks, and locals began to dump their old and unwanted belongs there. In 1990, the park was anything but an oasis.
Today, the park has been restored through the work of organizations and volunteers, like Friends of Westgate Park. Cyclists, joggers, and walkers can enjoy the trails that run into the city, while bird watchers can witness an array of wildlife, including ducks, coots, pelicans, and swans. Additionally, visitors can experience the natural phenomenon of the salt lake turning pink (when salt levels are high). The West Gate Park has gone through many transformations, becoming a mixture of the natural and the man-made.
Grid Layouts
The Plan
2024
Having found so many angles to share this story, I believe it is best to create a storyboard the encompasses all of them to share the full picture. I plan to convey each theme in a linear way that shows we must continue moving forward to heal the damage done as there is no going back to what was, simply preserving what we have now. I will show this in two ways:
First, through prints in an exhibition. Displayed in a line, a collection of wet cyanotype prints made from the waters I have visited will be on show with my images collaged in the center. I like the idea of collaborating with the marine ecosystems to tell this story. Using the materials found or related to these shorelines, I will develop a number of prints to correlate with my themes and collaborations.
Cyanotypes used from Meghann Riepenhoff's series Littoral Drift
Cyanotypes used from Meghann Riepenhoff's series Littoral Drift
Cyanotypes used from Meghann Riepenhoff's series Littoral Drift
Here is my first attempt with the cyanotype. Unfortunately, I could not get my printer to produce a digital negative without the ink smearing across the film. So I tried, also for the first time, to use an emulsion instead.
Second, I am considering creating a digital photobook or a website similar to photographer, Aishah Kenton's work for ABC where the story will be shared in a linear scroll. It will highlight the issues the marine environment is facing, and share the tales of different people aiding in the efforts for marine conservation.
[Below, a photo book is made in place of the website version as I have not yet been granted access to the web platform of preference (in order to incorporate animations and text over images).
