Faces of Chelonia: Art, Turtles and Two Guys with a Camera

This is an interview that is typically techno: Neil Ever Osborne and I did it email via email, and Wallace J Nichols and I over a beer with little wi-fi. It was great fun to interview my ocean brothers, and bioneers on this amazing adventure they are having called, “Faces of Chelonia”.

Both Neil and J are scientists, but they are artists, media makers and are making a profound impact on turtle health, and the use of art/imagery to explore the planet, and beauty.

** All images by Neil Ever Osborne

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SK: Ok, you first Neil. How did you find photography? Did looking at pictures influence you, or did a camera find you?
NEO: I have just a simple answer. Before I was a photographer, I was a biologist. When I realized I could communicate with more diverse and larger audiences through images, it was easy to swap research-measuring tools for the camera!

SK: Once you had a camera what were the topics, or subjects that interested you most?

NEO: I guess you can say I’ve remained intrigued by the scientific and natural world, so my assignments and personal work are almost exclusively centered on an environmental topic or issue. It takes me to some fascinating places!

 

 

 

 

 

 

SK: J, how did you find Turtles, or how did they find you?

WJN: I’ve been a bit of a turtle and math geek since I was a kid. We used to catch snapping turtles and paint numbers on their shells and use simple algebra to estimate the size of the population based on recaptures. Turtles have been a steady obsession ever since. I just like them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SK: J, you’re a biologist, but you also have a degree in economics, oh, and you are also a media maker. How did this mish-mash come together, and why?

WJN: I was always interested in problem solving more than any particular academic discipline. So I’ve just learned about the tools that I think are needed, often by hanging around the people I know are best at those things, be they photographers, designers or neuroscientists.

SK: So, Neil, when did the blending of science and art/art and science come into your consciousness?

NEO: I’m still learning the power of this convergence. But, it is clear to me this is the direction conservation needs to head. Conservation communications should not be a novel term, but in many conversations it still is. As these worlds collide, I think we’ll see more work coming from the emerging genre of conservation photography, and other communication platforms. Our next step is to start quantifying the role each can play with the other.

SK: Same question for you J. When did the blending of science and art/art and science come into your consciousness?
WJN: In high school I liked science, but was singled out by faculty for my writing. I told the head of the English Department that I was going to be a biologist who could write. He wanted it the other way around. It was then that I realized that I liked the blend of art and science, or science and art, as the case may be. The two strands wind around each other so easily.

I’ve sold a couple of images to National Geographic, so I’m now retired as a photographer ; )

SK: Neil, do you think photography can change the world? Or, people’s attitude towards place?

NEO: More and more I find myself saying that photography and imagery might not change the world, but it could be the factor that changes the mind of someone who can.

 

SK: J, what about you. Do you believe in “changing the world” Or images being  a part of that?

WJN: Anything or anyone can potentially change anyone or anything. Especially in this era of speed-of-light communication. Why limit the opportunities?

 

 

 

 

SK: Neil, What is your most recent project, it has to do with turtles….ya?

NEO: In the latest chapter of my Faces of Chelonia project, which depicts sea turtle conservation stories from around the world, J. and I are returning to the Baja California Sur coastline to bring back one of the most positive conservation tales around. We’ll introduce the public to a movement that started more than a decade ago with some very unlikely characters. It will be a novel contribution to the media where we are constantly informed about what is going wrong in the world. If this excites you, you can support our project here:

PLEASE LINK BELOW FOR A WONDERFUL VIDEO AND A PLACE TO DONATE:

Emphas.is: http://bit.ly/qagRa2

SK: Do you feel that photography of nature is left out of the “canon” of museums? Or, does that not really matter?

NEO: These days, I’m spending most of my time trying to find outlets for my work and other photographers’ projects that align with audiences who might be influential in making decisions that affect the conservation issue. So, I’m more interested in the novel deliverables that get images into the face of the right people. More often this is the public who can persuade policy makers, but I’m looking to target specific audiences as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SK: Finally, J, what’s it like for you to work with Neil? Is there a different kind of collaboration or process you experience, as opposed to those in the labs you help run, or the projects you do on land?

WJN: Beyond the theory and rhetoric, Neil and I work well together. He’s easy to travel and camp with and we like the same kind of beer. I think people say, “those guys who love turtles are kind of crazy, fun to work with and polite.” So we build rapport, friendships and get invited back. And that’s much more important to the conservation process than you may think.