Santa Fe New Mexican's Pasatiempo: Monroe Gallery of Photography’s This Fragile Earth

 Via Pasatiempo

December 29, 2023

By Brian Sanford

Ed Kashi

A worker subcontracted by Shell Oil Company cleans up an oil spill from a well owned by Shell that had been left abandoned for over 25 years, 2004

PHOTOGRAPHY

Documenting damage

In one of the more disturbing images in Monroe Gallery of Photography’s This Fragile Earth, a subcontractor for Shell Oil Company takes a break from cleaning up an oil spill at an abandoned well owned by Shell, holding out his hand. At first glance, it appears to be covered in human blood. Further examination reveals it’s actually covered in Earth’s blood: oil. The untitled image was captured by photographer Ed Kashi in 2004.

Equally troubling, but perhaps more resonant to New Mexicans, is Aftermath of Calf Creek/Hermits Peak Wildfire, taken near Mora in 2022 by Santa Fe New Mexican photographer Gabriela Campos. It features a panoramic view of the charred landscape left by the most damaging wildfire in the state’s history.

This Fragile Earth, which runs through January 21, juxtaposes images showing human-caused environmental devastation and the effects of climate change with others that highlight nature’s magnificence. Among the latter are Taos Gorge, taken by Henry Monroe in 2018, and an untitled image showing a giraffe beneath flying storks at Shaba Game Reserve in Kenya, taken by Bill Eppridge in 1978.

The exhibition’s goal is to motivate awareness and change, say gallery owners Michelle and Sid Monroe. It’s supplemented by a virtual exhibition, Stephen Wilkes: This Fragile Earth, Day to Night, showing that photographer’s images of nature’s splendor. Wilkes, of Connecticut, used a technique in the pieces that captures the passage of time from day to night.

Many of Wilkes’ images show details of locations relatively few humans have visited: Churchill, Manitoba, near Hudson Bay; Ilulissat, Greenland; and Chilko Lake, British Columbia. While humans are only visible in one of the images, others feature caribou, wood bison, polar and grizzly bears, zebras, and elephants. Wilkes gave a talk about the images, as well as his documentation of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, at the gallery on November 30. View it at monroegallery.com.  — Brian Sandford

TIME's Best Photos of 2023 Includes Gallery Photographer David Butow's Image From The Maui Willdfire

 

Via TIME

December 21, 2023

A girl who, unable to get an abortion, becomes a mother before starting 7th grade; a mass of twisted metal and ash, all that remains of a home in the wake of the Maui wildfires; Bad Bunny, one of the year’s most engaging entertainers, stepping out in a pink mohair coat adorned with a bow: These photographs, all featured in TIME during 2023, constitute a map of where we’ve been and what we’ve seen, connecting us with the greater world. Sometimes we may feel we live and work in isolation, but it’s never true: there are always those facing challenges as formidable as our own, or even more so, and there are joys to be had, too. These are just a few of the gifts great photographs can bring us, a collapsing of the distance between others and ourselves.

We’re reminded how our world is changing around us when we see a flutter of birds over Delhi, a city cloaked with smog that puts both animal health and that of humans at risk. A 14-year-old Georgia teenager named Malayah faces the camera resolutely, a reminder that paying attention to the mental health of young people will make for happier, more well-adjusted grownups tomorrow—the world will be in their hands someday. And a group of citizens light candles for Tyre Nichols, beaten and killed by Memphis police in January, at the community skate park he used to frequent as a youth in Sacramento, Calif. We need to remember our dead, especially those whose deaths fill us with anger—but it’s also important to recall the things that brought joy to their lives, because even for those whose lives aren’t cut down prematurely, time is fleeting.

David Butow: Ruins of a home in the small hillside town of Kula. "What Remains After the Flames: Scenes From the Ash-Colored Streets of Maui," September 4 issue.

David Butow's photograph "The landscape of destruction, Lahaina, Maui, seen on August 24, 2023" is featured in the current exhibition "This Fragile Earth", on view through January 21, 2024

New Exhibition: This Fragile Earth Opens Friday, Nov. 24

 

Our Fragile Earth simmered into worrisome new territory this year. Two new companion exhibits feature a wide range of photographs documenting the grandeur of nature and majestic landscapes alongside images illustrating devastation caused by environmental neglect and the effects of a changing climate across our Fragile Earth. Just as photographs illustrating the transformative experiences of nature have been instrumental in promoting the cause of environmental conservation, photographs from recent climate events can raise awareness about global warming, channeling it into hope and into collective action. This exhibit informs in the hope the images motivate awareness and change. 

Opening Reception: Friday, November 24, 2023 from 5-7 pm. Several photographers will be in attendance.



Special Companion Virtual Exhibition Stephen Wilkes: This Fragile Earth Day To Night

Over the last decade, Stephen Wilkes has observed endangered species and habitats around the world, using a photographic technique that captures the passage of time, from day to night, all within a single image.

Zoom talk with Stephen Wilkes, Thursday, November 30 4:30 PM MST. Contact the Gallery for Zoom registration. View Stephen Wilkes This Fragile Earth here.

Stephen Wilkes' pictures document effects of climate change

 Via Good Morning America

August 23, 2022

Stephen Wilkes has been photographing national parks for more than 20 years and his newly born granddaughter inspires him to continue bearing witness to how they're affected by climate change.

Stephen Wilkes' Photograph on the Cover of National Geographic "America The Beautiful" Issue

 

Stephen Wilkes photograph of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is the cover of  National Geographic's “America the Beautiful” issue. "This photograph of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is one of four Day to Night’s I created for the September 2022 issue. The spectacular landscape of Bears Ears Monument is a symbol of the risk to some of the country's unique and irreplaceable places. One president preserved it at the urging of Native Americans who hold it sacred, another tried to open it to drilling and mining.

A national monument rich with archaeological sites, it includes the Citadel, once a fortified cliff dwelling, now a popular hiking spot. I took 2,092 photographs over 36 hours and selected 44 for this image. Beyond the sense of awe and beauty, there's a palpable sense of history with every step you take.

Bears Ears was one of the most challenging Day to Nights I have created. After a long day of traveling my team and I hiked out over an hour with several hundred pounds of gear to our shoot location and set up camp for the next three days. Over the duration of our shoot we photographed while battling steady 45 mph winds, and were blessed to be able to capture the sunrise, a full moon and a rare alignment of the planets, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn." --Stephen Wilkes

Ashley Gilbertson Photographs of Deforestation of Congo River Basin in NY Times

 Via The New York Times

July 13, 2022

Dionne Searcey and Ashley Gilbertson  reported from the Mpatemata Forest community, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to understand the far-reaching effects of the charcoal trade on deforestation.

Raft by Raft, a Rainforest Loses Its Trees: photographer Ashley Gilbertson traveled 500 miles along the Congo River and its tributaries to explore the forces driving deforestation.

 Via The New York Times

June 14, 2022

Dionne Searcey, a climate reporter at The New York Times, and photographer Ashley Gilbertson traveled 500 miles along the Congo River and its tributaries to explore the forces driving deforestation.

Stephen Wilkes among group of nature photographers joining forces to protect the environment

 

Via CNN

December 2, 2021

Stephen Wilkes - Serengeti Day to Night. For his project "Day to Night," Stephen Wilkes creates images of landscapes photographed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours. Blending these images into a single photograph can take months. Pictured, is Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.   ©,Stephen Wilkes

View slide show here

The final moments before the death of the last male northern white rhino, a 66-year-old elephant swimming in the ocean, and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall searching for chimpanzees in Tanzania in the early 1960s; these are all moments captured in a collection of powerful photographs that have been donated to raise funds for conservation projects.

Works by 100 photographers from around the world will be sold until the end of the year by Vital Impacts, a non-profit that provides financial support to community-orientated conservation organizations and amplifies the work of photographers who are raising awareness of their efforts. Contributing is a who's who of nature photography, including Paul Nicklen, Ami Vitale, Jimmy Chin, Chris Burkard, Nick Brandt, Beth Moon, Stephen Wilkes and Goodall herself.

"Each image has a really profound story behind it," said Vitale, an award-winning photographer and co-founder of Vital Impacts. "I worked really hard when I was curating this to make sure that these photographers are diverse, but the one thing they all share is this commitment to the planet. They're using their art to help conservation."

'An inspiration to the world'

Goodall's photograph of herself, sitting with a telescope on a high peak in Gombe, Tanzania, was taken around 1962 using a camera that she fastened to a tree branch. "I was pretty proud of myself. I love that picture," said Goodall in a video message for Vital Impacts. All the proceeds from her self-portrait will go to supporting her Roots & Shoots program, which educates young people and empowers them to care for the world.

Jane Goodall's "Self Portrait," from the early 1960s, in Tanzania. Credit: ©,Jane Goodall

"It's breathtaking work," said Vitale, who only found out that Goodall was a photographer after reaching out to her about supporting the program. "She's been such an inspiration to the world. This one woman has had such an impact for the betterment of the planet."

Vital Impacts has tried to make the print sale carbon neutral by planting trees for every print that is made. Sixty per cent of profits from the sale will be divided between four groups involved in wildlife or habitat protection: Big Life Foundation, Great Plains Foundation's Project Ranger, Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots program, and SeaLegacy. The remaining 40% will go to the photographers to help them continue their work.

'Our shared life raft'

Vitale was a conflict photographer for a decade before becoming a wildlife photographer. She hopes that people will be "inspired by all of this work" and that the photographs make people "fall in love" with our "magnificent planet."

"The planet is our shared life raft and we've poked some holes in it, but it's not too late," added Vitale. "We can all do little acts that can have profound impacts. That's kind of why I named it 'Vital Impacts,' because I think very often we are all so disconnected and don't realize how we are interconnected. Everything we do impacts one another and shapes this world."

One of her photographs in the print sale, "Goodbye Sudan," shows Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, being comforted by one of his keepers, Joseph Wachira, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in northern Kenya moments before the rhino's death in March 2018. Now, two females are all that remains of this species.

.

"Goodbye Sudan" by Ami Vitale shows the moments before the death of the last male northern white rhino in 2018. Credit:© Ami Vitale

"It's such an important story to me because it made me realize that watching these animals go extinct is actually like watching our own demise in slow motion, knowing that it's going to impact humanity," said Vitale.

"It's so deeply interwoven. That's what led me down this path and now I really try to find these stories which show us a way forward, where people are learning how to coexist and protect wildlife and the habitats that we all share."

New York Times story about Cobalt Gallery with images by Gallery photographer Ashley Gilbertson

 

Via The New York Times

November 20, 2021

The quest for Congo’s cobalt, which is vital for electric vehicles and the worldwide push against climate change, is caught in an international cycle of exploitation, greed and gamesmanship. Photographs by Ashley Gilbertson.

The New York Times published a feature story about the extraction of Cobalt in the Congo that Gallery photographer Ashley Gilbertson has been working on since late 2019

"On Aug. 20, 2018, one child staged a lone protest outside the Swedish Parliament, expecting to stay for three weeks...."

 

Adam Karls Johansson

Greta Thunberg's first school strike for Climate, outside the Swedish Parliament, August 20, 2018

Via The New York Times

August 19, 2021

"On Aug. 20, 2018, one child staged a lone protest outside the Swedish Parliament, expecting to stay for three weeks. Tomorrow we will mark three years since Greta Thunberg’s strike. Even earlier, brave young people from around the world spoke out about the climate crisis in their communities. And today, millions of children and young people have united in a movement with one voice, demanding that decision makers do the work necessary to save our planet from the unprecedented heat waves, massive floods and vast wildfires we are increasingly witnessing. Our protest will not end until the inaction does."

Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World

 

Adam Karls Johansson

Greta Thunberg's first school strike for Climate, outside the Swedish Parliament, August 20, 2018

The first episode of Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World airs tonight (Monday 12 April) at 9pm on BBC One; then premieres in its entirety as a special presentation on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22 at 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS stations nationwide in the United States.

 

Via PBS:  Greta Thunberg is on a mission to save the world. She is asking every one of us to act and to mobilize in order to slow down the growing climate change that is destroying our planet and threatens our way of life. The message is clear, and scientists agree—we need to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees in order to give our species the best possible chance of avoiding a catastrophic future. 

This revealing series follows Greta as she steps from behind the podium and onto the front lines. Over the course of the three episodes, Greta explores the science as she travels to extraordinary locations across the globe, meeting leading climate scientists, witnessing first hand the consequences of climate change and confronting the complexity of what is required to make change happen. She travels from the burning tar sands of the Canadian oil industry to the coal mines of Europe and the melting glaciers of the U.S.—places where the impact of a changing climate is glaringly obvious, both for the planet and for the inevitable human costs—making clear the reasons why scientists call for action to be taken. The series also hears from a range of academics, economists and experts, further exploring the climate change science Greta encounters on the ground.

In the fall of 2019, then-16-year-old Greta took a year off from school to embark on an international mission to spread her message: that we must act to drastically reduce our carbon emissions—immediately. The world was transfixed as this teenager spoke with directness and clarity to power, from diplomats at the United Nations to the world’s economic elite at Davos. However, just as her journey was gaining serious momentum, a new threat emerged, and everything became uncertain. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a terrifying standstill when the global economy, modern society and Greta’s journey all came to a halt. However, as days turned to months and people around the world were confined to their homes, an unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the ongoing global shutdown, revealing how much we can lessen our impact on the planet if we radically change our behavior.

“Through Greta’s exploration of the science, we get a deeper understanding of the problems of climate change and the complexity of resolving them,” said Bill Gardner, Vice President, Programming and Development, PBS. “This is also a very personal, intimate and moving story about an incredibly brave person who has found herself in the global spotlight and navigates the challenges of unsought fame. PBS is proud to bring this powerful story to our viewers of all ages.” 

 

Via TED Countdown Global Launch

October 10, 2020

24 hours on Earth — in one image

Stephen Wilkes • Countdown • October 2020

"Nature reveals itself to us in unique ways, if we stop and look at the world through a window of time," says photographer Stephen Wilkes. Using a special photographic technique that reveals how a scene changes from day to night in a single image, Wilkes exposes the Earth's beautiful complexity and the impacts of climate change — from the disruption of flamingo migrations in Africa to the threat of melting ice — with unprecedented force.

"Watching the Earth Melt Away", directed by Joe McNally, at the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival

Via Ridgefield's Hamlet Hub

October 9, 2020

"Watching the Earth Melt Away" directed by Joe McNally, an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning photographer and filmmaker will screen live on Friday, October 16 @ 4:00 pm at the Ridgefield Theater Barn and is also available to screen virtually.

Watching The Earth Melt Away is a wake-up call to climate change. In 2001, McNally covered a story about George Divoky, an ornithologist who, at that time had spent three months every summer for the past 28 years, living on a Cooper Island, a forbidding stretch of ice north of Alaska, where he studied artic seabirds. Over the course of his study though, which has now spanned 46 years, Divoky had inadvertently amassed one of the world’s largest experiential accounts of global warning. In 2001, McNally took a breathtaking photo of Divoky standing on a stretch of ice with the artic sky behind him. When McNally returned to Cooper Island in 2019, he recreated the photograph. The glaring difference between the two said it all—Divoky was standing knee deep in water. The magnitude and speed with which the landscape had melted and changed is heartbreakingly evident in the haunting film, Watching The Earth Melt Away.

LIFE ON EARTH Exhibit in the News

We are grateful the current exhibition "Life On Earth" has received extensive coverage in the press:


The Eye of Photography: Monroe Gallery of Photography: Life on Earth

©Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project: Heavy black clouds of dust rising over the Texas Panhandle, April,1935

The Albuquerque Journal: Humanity’s footprint: Monroe Gallery photography exhibit “Life On Earth” a survey of environmental and climate issues

©Adam Karls Johansson: Greta Thunberg’s first school strike for climate outside the Swedish Parliament, 2018

The Santa Fe New Mexican: Life on Earth, a survey exhibition of work by photojournalists that spans more than 80 years 

Margaret Bourke-White/©The Life Picture Collection: Margaret Bourke-White, Louisville Flood Red Cross Relief Station, Kentucky, 1936

View the exhibit on-line here, and on our YouTube channel.

Monroe Gallery of Photography presents two exhibitions in the gallery concurrent with on-line viewing

Monroe Gallery of Photography presents two exhibitions in the gallery concurrent with on-line viewing at www.monroegallery.com. The exhibits are on view July 3 through September 13, 2020; the Gallery is open to the public with Covid-19 safe operating procedures. Private viewing appointments are available by reservation. 

Ryan Vizzions: : A church flooded by Hurricane Florence stands silently in its reflection

 in Burgaw, North Carolina, 2018

LIFE ON EARTH

“Life on Earth” is a survey of 20th and 21st Century environmental and climate issues documented by photojournalists. Our world is changing faster – and in more ways – than we could have ever imagined. With social and economic disruption on a scale rarely seen since the end of World War II 75 years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic is also forcing us to completely rethink the notion of ‘business as usual’

The Earth’s climate is changing faster-and in more ways-than we previously imagined. This exhibit of climate related images hopes to promote awareness and motivate advocacy for the health of our planet. A narrated tour is available on our YouTube channel.

Tony Vaccaro: GThe Pink  Balcony, Puerto Rico, 1951

TONY VACCAO

GRIT AND RED WINE

“Grit and Red Wine” is special exhibition of photographs by Tony Vaccaro which includes several new discoveries from his archive being exhibited for the very first time. Tony Vaccaro, now 97, is one of the few people alive who can claim to have survived the Battle of Normandy and COVID-19.  Tony was drafted into WWII, in June of 1944 he was on a boat heading toward Omaha Beach, fighting the enemy while also photographing his experience at great risk. After the war, Tony remained in Germany to photograph the rebuilding of the country for Stars And Stripes magazine. Returning to the US in 1950, Tony started his career as a commercial photographer, eventually working for virtually every major publication: Look, Life, Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, Newsweek, and many more. Tony went on to become one the most sought after photographers of his day. Tony attributes his longevity to “blind luck, red wine” and determination.

“To me, the greatest thing that you can do is challenge the world. And most of these challenges I win. That’s what keeps me going.” –Tony Vaccaro, May, 2020

STEPHEN WILKES: "REMNANTS" OPENS TONIGHT

Recycled Aluminum Can Study #1

The New Yorker:

"The photographer Stephen Wilkes has been documenting some of the side effects of the crisis for years, including in the aftermath of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. “Remnants,” an exhibition of his work, will be on view at Monroe Gallery, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through November 22nd." Slide show here.

 

The Santa Fe Reporter:

"His latest collection, Remnants, unveiling this Friday at Monroe Gallery, explores the phrase further with a series of images that shine an eerie and at times ethereal spotlight on environmental remnants often left behind by man."

Please join us for the opening reception with Stephen Wilkes this evening, October 2, from 5 - 7 pm.

Announcing Stephen Wilkes: Remnants

Recycled Aluminum Can Study #1

 

Santa Fe--Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, is pleased to present "Remnants", an exhibition of large-scale color photographs of the environment and the environmental remnants left behind either by nature or man.

The exhibition opens with a public reception with photographer Stephen Wilkes from 5 - 7 PM on Friday, October 2. The exhibition continues through November 22.

For more than two decades Stephen Wilkes has been widely recognized for his fine art, editorial, and commercial photography. With numerous awards and honors, as well as five major exhibitions in the last five years, Wilkes has made an impression on the world of photography.

In the face of increasing global attention on climate change and rebuilding; and as society grapples with the byproducts of global human achievements such as urban development and mass production that have caused problems of scarcity and waste simultaneously, "Remnants" is a timely examination of the environmental issues facing society.
 

"I’ve often found that there is great power in telling difficult stories in a beautiful way. Interest in any given story wanes so quickly, yet it’s only through taking the time to go deeper that we get to a place of real understanding.

There are moments in journalism when the media captures the visual details of a disaster, yet sometimes misses the true scale of devastation. It’s my hope that these images serve as a wakeup call — whether that call is about global warming, infrastructure, or just the recognition that the world is changing, it’s a reminder that we need to take special care of our fragile world." --Stephen Wilkes

 
Recycled Wire Study

Photography has been Stephen’s passion since age 12, when his fascination with science led him to take photographs through a microscope. He began working on his own at age 15, attended Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications, graduating in 1980. In 1982, Wilkes opened his own studio in Manhattan.

“Ever since I took my first pictures, photography has always been the joy of discovery for me,” says Wilkes. “The excitement not only lies with what I see and how I see it, but mostly when someone looks at the finished photograph and feels the same emotions I felt when I took the picture. There is something sacred about the right moment. The frame where all the energy comes together and, in one instant, a story is told.”

Wilkes' photographs are in the permanent collection of The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dow Jones & Company, New York City; The Jewish Museum, New York City; and in numerous important private collections throughout the world. His work has graced the covers of numerous international publications, including Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Life Magazine, and Time Magazine. Selected photographs in the "Remnants" exhibition were featured in the Annenberg Center for Photography exhibit "Sink or Swim: Designing For A Sea Change", Dec 13, 2014 - May 3, 2015.