Marshall Wilson
Photography Studies College (BA)
Research Essay 2024
How can photography be effective at raising awareness & promoting the protection of our marine ecosystems?
An image of the ocean is more than an aesthetic photo – it is a gateway into the heart of our planet. The oceans can exist without us, but we cannot without them, as they regulate our planet to sustain life. Though resilient, they are not immune to man’s influence. One powerful method to protect our marine ecosystems can be as simple as an image.
Imagery connects with a larger audience than the written word, speaking in numerous languages and relating to a multitude of cultures. It offers a range of perspectives and is more engaging than scientific facts alone. Visual communication fosters empathy, understanding, attachment, and action, making it crucial for time-sensitive, urgent matters.
Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, I have watched a beloved sanctuary suffer from human neglect. This bay was my teacher, my provider, and a source of profound influence in shaping my values to present day. While it shaped me for the better, I have witnessed rapid changes in it – from rising temperatures and algae blooms, to vanishing seagrass and gruesome infections. This degradation reflects a global trend of neglect and abuse of our waterways. Moving to Australia, I witness similar threats to the Southern Ocean. Without urgent action and political and societal changes, irreversible damage to our waterways is inevitable.
Through its unique ability to educe sentiment, convey complex narratives, and capture the essence of marine ecosystems, photography serves as a powerful tool for raising awareness of marine conservation issues and inspiring action.
My folio will visually communicate our intricate and crucial relationship with marine ecosystems, focusing on Victoria's waterways. Through various methods, perspectives, and conceptual approaches, I aim to educate and connect my audience to marine conservation, mobilizing individuals, communities, and policymakers towards preservation.
This paper will first discuss the importance of marine conservation and the need for environmental communication around climate change. It will then explore the role of photography in environmental communication, analyzing the psychological impacts of images on viewers and examining successful case studies by marine conservationists. The paper will conclude by summarizing the key findings that make photographs effective in inspiring change and how these insights have shaped my own folio to encourage marine environment preservation.
The oceans play a significant role in sustaining life on Earth, producing over half of our oxygen and supporting biodiversity, food webs, and the water cycle (Grégoire et al 2023, p.4-8). Without the function of our oceans, planet Earth would become the next Mars – lifeless. Mankind has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, yet research on climate change has been around for less than a century (UK Research and Innovation n.d.). In the 1800s, scientists speculated that Earth should be cooler given its size and distance from the sun, and that carbon dioxide could alter surface temperature via the greenhouse effect. However, this theory wasn't tested until the next century (UK Research and Innovation n.d). Within a 50-year period, the global temperature rose 0.3°C with carbon monoxide emissions being the source of blame. However, Callendar was ignored by numerous scientists who could not fathom the notion that a species of our size, could impact a system as large as our planet. Dr. Hawkins, from Reading's National Centre for Atmospheric Science, tells the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) that this is “a problem that climate science still encounters from some people today, despite the compelling evidence to the contrary" (Applegate 2013).
Today, the carbon dioxide levels have risen 50% higher than what it was before the Industrial Revolution (Jansen et al. 2023, p.205). As greenhouse gases escalate due to plastic emissions and burning fossil-fuels, so does the acidity in our oceans, the deoxygenation throughout our planet, the rise of sea levels, and the severity of natural disasters.
These changes impact marine ecosystems, promoting harmful algae blooms and dissolving the shells of crustaceans – a vital food source (Errera 2019). Harmful algae blooms (HAB) are a species of algae that blocks sunlight, kills marine life, destroy ecosystems, and release toxins into our waterways – the same water we drink from. These warming waters lead more frequent and dangerous hurricanes, as well as oxygen depletion causing coral reefs to suffocate (Errera 2019). This situation is exacerbated by chemical runoff, erosion, fecal matter, and plastic waste.
In January 2024, a study was led by the University of Tasmania's School of Natural Sciences where blood samples were taken from 45 little penguins in Burnie and Hobart. Of those penguins, 82% had PFAS in their blood. PFAS stands for “per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances,” which are manufactured chemicals often found in sunscreen, makeup and takeout packaging (Whitfield 2024). Exposure to these chemicals have been linked to cancer. If the penguins are finding PFAS in their seafood, then humans are at risk too. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated, “we have known about (climate change) for half a century, and have failed to do anything meaningful about it. What's it going to take for us to wake up?"
In 2023, data was acquired by The Australia Institute that revealed “over 70% of Australians say that they are concerned about climate change and its impacts” (Morrison 2023, p.6). This leaves nearly 30% of the population unconcerned. In the U.S., the topic of climate change has led to a significant political divide (Wong-Parodi & Feygina 2021). Consequently, requiring a modern approach in overcoming climate change skepticism and disengagement. Given the primary source for Earths instability is the cause of man, the issue now lies in how to connect with people on a global scale to enforce societal change and the preservation of our seas.
Effective environmental communication requires scientific facts accompanied with visuals to be cogent. It is important for its ability to connect mankind to the world around them. Photography has historically been a powerful agent for change. Conohar Scott, a lecturer in photographic theory at the University of Lincoln, emphasizes this when referencing the impactful image of the Mahayana monk, Thích Quảng Đức, who set himself on fire in 1963 – sparking global protests and anti-war sentiment. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy noted that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one" (Scott 2022, p.1). It created a change in behavior and action among its viewers, contributing to the regime's downfall.
Fifty-five years later, a similar act occurred by lawyer and environmental activist, David Buckel. Buckel’s self-sacrifice was in rebellion against the use of burning fossil fuels, where he stated “‘my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,’” (Scott 2022, p.1). However, Buckel’s sacrifice did not have the same impact. Unlike Đức's act, which targeted a specific regime, Buckel’s protest called for global societal change, a much broader challenge. Scott argues that images influence perception, foster empathy, and educate viewers, whether through new work or archival images. Given the urgency of environmental issues, he asserts that photographers have an ethical obligation to use their talents for the cause and play “an ever more important role in visualising the struggle against industrial pollution within the social imaginary” (Scott 2022, p.177).
Photography as a medium for environmental activism is relatively new (Matthews 2016, p.8). One of the first photographers to utilize images for conservation is Alfred Eisenstaedt, with his image of toxic foam on the Great Lakes for LIFE magazine in 1968 (Scott 2022, p.21, 95-97). In recent decades, many more marine conservation photographers have risen, such as renown photographers Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. In 2017, they shot one of the decade's most viral and controversial images of an emaciated polar bear along the melting Artic landscape – viewed over 2.5 billion times globally (Adkins, 2023). It became a symbol for climate change despite criticism for its framing (Adkins 2023).
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) released an article that denounced the image for being unrelatable and potentially misleading. It suggested it might have been emaciated due to disease rather than climate change (Adkins 2023). The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research found that fear-inducing images attract attention but often fail to engage viewers, who may become desensitized through feeling detached and helpless to the mass problem. Instead, communication should cater to viewers' values, attitudes, and experiences to instigate action (O'Neill et al. 2023, p.375). Familiarity with the subject also strengthens the bond between the visual and the viewer (Dankel, Fox & Marshall 2021, p.6-8). The BBC article states alternatives, such as using extreme weather as a relatable symbol since the severity of storms and temperatures are spreading worldwide. In addition, images should include a human interaction for connection, such as climate scientists or indigenous people surveying the natural world. Those that have a human side and a positive outcome have more of an impact on audiences (Brown 2018, p.62). They recommend including a solution-based element and innovative stories to avoid disengagement, as well as captions explaining the importance behind the scenes (Brown 2018, p.41). Positive imagery, such as a recovering coral reefs on the cover of 2023 Time Magazine, can promote hope and encourage action to support the world we aspire to live in (Brown 2018, p.41).
Connecting to viewers' emotions is crucial. In the U.S., climate change perceptions are polarized, with liberals more likely to accept it as human-caused and conservatives viewing it as a natural occurrence, looking more favorably on the use of fossil fuels (Wong-Parodi & Feygina 2021, p.572). Stanford researchers found that using imagery and stories rather than scientific facts increases willingness to act across political divides. For instance, when the information was presented as a crime scene episode linking cancer to contaminated water, it elicited a strong negative emotional response among participants. In turn, it increased their willingness to act as they remarked feeling greater personal vulnerability (Wong-Parodi & Feygina 2021, p.574). Positive emotions foster support, a greater sense of proximity, and interest in adaptation, while negative emotions drive apprehension, engagement, and a willingness to learn more – especially among conservatives (Wong-Parodi & Feygina 2021, p.581-584). Eliciting emotional imagery is a promising tool for combatting party ideologies.
The beauty found in nature is one of the largest influencers for behavioral change through its ability to produce awe. Dr. Summer Allen describes awe as the feeling of being part of something greater than oneself (Summer 2018, p.7). Research shows that Awe-inspiring nature images can shift focus away from the self, promote humility, and foster prosocial behavior, encouraging conservation advocacy (Summer 2018, p.26-37). Awe enhances interpersonal and environmental connections, alters perception of time starvation, and encourages altruism which can lead to conservation advocacy (Summer 2018, p.26; 30; 37). Conservation photographers often juxtapose beauty with destruction to show the harm done and the beauty left to protect –creating an emotional connection that drives action (Brown 2018, p.62). The beauty shot is the attention grabber for their viewers that creates an emotional connection. Whereas the destruction image is the hardcore impact shot that tells a different angle to the story and creates awareness (Brown 2018, p. 93; 133). In an episode of “Photographer,” Paul Nicklen states, “you can elicit an emotional response from your followers. You can make them care; you can make them angry. I just want them to feel it. And then from there, decide what they want to do” (Photographer 2024).
Photography can be categorized into six themes for enhancing engagement: descriptive, explanatory, interpretive, ethically evaluative, aesthetically evaluative, and theoretical (Brown 2018, p.24-25). Descriptive images are accurate and objective pieces of information – like x-rays. Explanatory images are visual attempts to explain scientific questions – like blurred motion to reflect speed. Interpretive are poetic and metaphoric attempts to deliver information from a particular perspective – like a model being directed. Ethically evaluative have a moral decision to convey to right a wrong or describe and criticize society– either politically or socially. Aesthetically evaluative portrays the subject as beautiful and wonder – like the work of Ansel Adams. This can also be used to show something as aesthetically displeasing. Lastly, theoretical photographs are about art – like illusions. Conservation photography must fit into these categories to be effective.
Another form of engagement comes from ocean literacy. Surfers, due to their exposure to the ocean, often develop a strong emotional connection and willingness to engage in conservation efforts. A study of 249 surfers found that 72% became aware of plastic pollution through surfing, and over 95% were willing to join beach cleanups (Dankel, Fox & Marshall 2021, p.6). For others, lack of exposure to the ocean can lead to thalassophobia (fear of the sea).
In 2017, a paper was published on manmade pollutants found in the Mariana Trench – the deepest known point on Earth’s surface (Jamieson et al 2021, p.3). It received extensive media coverage and mix reactions, with some relieved that the contamination was far from human reach. This revelation led researchers to question why some people do not care about the deep sea. They found that how sound and language framed an image played a large role in influence. They found that using common language and avoiding sensationalism helps prevent depicting the deep sea as alien, unrelatable, ominous, and mysterious (Jamieson et al. 2021, p.1). For example, the study recalls a viral image of a blobfish that the National Science and Engineering Competition voted the “World’s Ugliest Animal” 2012 (Jamieson et al 2021, p.39-40). The image was of a dead, preserved specimen that was de-scaled and deteriorating from time and the force of gravity. Given its new reputation, this species became the image behind the evil, alien-like character in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Jamieson et al 2021, p.13).
Another example is from the documentary, “Blue Planet II” titled The Deep. Here, phrases such as “an unforgiving world, “a sea of eternal gloom,” and “we know more about the surface of Mars…” were all used to describe the deep sea – further distancing people and making them feel it is not a part of our world (Jamieson et al 2021, p.17). The deep sea is described to fit preconceived ideas and feelings verses on scientific evidence (Jamieson et al 2021, p.18-19). Fear appeals can lead to denial as a psychological response to control their inner fear (Brown 2018, p.29). The framing of an image and its context play crucial roles in how viewers perceive the information.
Combining art and science effectively engages the public in marine conservation, but it's crucial to present data in innovative ways to maintain interest (Kasumovic 2023, p.5). A notable example is the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) 2017 April Fools prank, where they published a fictional news photo in The Daily Telegraph showing a polar bear in Scotland. The article went viral, sparking widespread discussion climate change (Kember 2017, p.350). The hoax brought the discussion and issue to the Scots doorstep, making it relavant.
Another innovative approach was the 2011 Local Climate Change Visioning Project in British Columbia. Landscape architects created 3D visuals showing the community’s current state, a future with low-carbon initiatives, and a future with unchecked climate change. These visuals effectively raised awareness, increased urgency, and encouraged action among residents (Burch 2008, p.1). A participant noted that visuals made the impact of climate change more relatable than statistics, stating, “‘Numbers may not stay with me, but visuals will…I learned how climate change could affect my community in a very graphic way’ that ‘hit home’" (Burch 2008, p.14). Comments on the project showed that most participants focused on personal actions like reducing car use, using public transport, upgrading household energy efficiency, and supporting climate change policies at a local scale.
Novel tactics like virtual reality and time-lapse videos offer the public a vision of potential futures, fostering a sense of presence in those scenarios (Bailenson & Markowitz 2021; Blythe et al. 2021). These methods increased empathy, particularly with pessimistic scenes, though the effect faded after three months without exposure. Enthusiasm for collective actions, such as voting for climate policies or joining community groups, was also limited. This emphasized the need for constant exposure as a reminder to stay focused on fostering a better future.
Harnessing the persuasive power of visuals is paramount in fostering success in marine conservation efforts. By crafting relatable, solution-oriented images paired with scientific data, photographs can both captivate and educate viewers. They can sway political ideologies, take down regimes and change the course of the future. My folio aims to depict our community's relationship with the Victorian waterways and marine life, featuring individuals engaged in conservation alongside imagery contrasting nature with pollution. Accompanied with informative captions, these visuals will encourage personal and collective action in marine conservation – offering opportunities and advice to my audience to get them involved. Whether displayed in innovative mediums like cyanotypes exposed in Victoria's waterways or through traditional formats like eco-friendly paper and frames or websites, the goal remains to spark engagement and inspire change.
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