The incredible photographic landscape of Arizona was the subject of my lens in May, 2010. This slideshow of my best Arizona photographs includes stock images of the locations of Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Route 66, Tonto Bridge State Park and Petrified Forest National Park. To license, click an image or here.
Arizona – Stock Photography – Images by Robert vanWaarden
“Just seeing the future for us and knowing that they [our parents] wanted a better future for us, I have the same feeling for, not myself, but the kids and for my relatives and that something better will be in the future for them, that keeps me going. Knowing that we have succeeded in one step and maybe we can continue on and see a better future for all of us.
[One of] the other things that keeps me going is knowing that one of my great aunts and my great uncles [had] respiratory problems. Their breath was taken away slowly inch by inch, feeling like they were being suffocated. When they died, thinking about them and thinking that how much better it would be for the rest of the people here. I don’t want them to die that way anymore, I want them to be able to breathe.” Fern Benally, Navajo Activist.
Shadia Fayne Wood from Project Survival Media and I just finished an assignment in Arizona, covering an incredible group of activists that are working hard to stop dirty energy on the Navajo Reservation and pushing the envelope on clean energy development. We are focusing on the closing of one of the coal mines in the area, the tactics that were used and what this means to the people affected by the closure.
The former coalmine is in the Benally’s backyard, land that has been the families for thousands of years. For the last 30 years, 24 hours a day, the large coal trucks would rumble by the house and the coal crusher would drown out nature. Now, thanks to incredible co-operation and dedication amongst groups like the Black Mesa Water Coalition, Grand Canyon Trust and the Sierra Club, the life of mine permit was revoked in January. Now, the Benally’s can hear the birds sing and watch the stars like their ancestors did long before Europeans came here.
There are still many examples of environmental racism here in Arizona and across our planet. But, it is important to celebrate victories and share the knowledge so that we can all move towards a sustainable future. More to come on this project in the future.
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I want your opinion!
I was recently in Monument Valley in Arizona and I created these two drastically different images of the landscape with the mittens. Photographed only 50m apart, these two images raise several questions about composition, viewer opinion and human impact on our environment. I want to know which image you prefer. Image #1: The Cedar Log and Mittens or Image #2: The Parking Lot.
Which one do you prefer and why? Leave your comment below.
Just as the sun was starting to warm up the cold, wet polder of the Netherlands, I figured that it was time to pack the gear and head off to the dry Southwest. One of my favourite places on earth, the landscapes of Utah, Nevada, California and region have inspired artists and photographers for decades. The colours of the red canyons, the arches, the beautiful sand dunes of Death Valley, it is a photographers dream.
This time I will spend most of my time in Arizona where I hear they have wonderful canyons and colourful deserts. Perhaps I can find some? But the chief reason behind this voyage still goes back to climate change. I plan on working with some of the native Americans of Arizona with Shadia Fayne from Project Survival Media to discover and document how modern day energy needs shape their future and past.
Check back for more, it will be an interesting adventure, (although, wifi isn’t emitted by Saguaro cactus so it won’t be everyday).
A unique and important media project, Project Survival Media, has just launched their newest plan, Solutions for Survival (S4S). This new program, is about challenging the industry-sponsored myth that we just can’t meet our energy needs without investing in dirty energy. S4S will do this by creating a documentary series in the United States on current clean energy potential and current dirty energy subsidies
How can you help?
My experience with PSM….
I got involved with PSM back in 2009 as the European Team leader. The initial project for PSM was to set up a team of youth journalists around the world to focus on climate change reporting. Within a short time span of a few weeks, PSM had engaged over 100 youth journalists around the world, raised over $40,000 and produced an incredible array of reporting around the climate issue leading up to COP 15. PSM also financed several southern youth representatives to join the team in Copenhagen and report on the summit. It was a wide success and I am excited about working with PSM throughout the foreseeable future to continue to focus on climate change reporting.
To that end, I will be heading to Arizona in a couple of weeks to focus on indigenous energy projects with PSM director Shadia Fayne. Stay tuned for more.
For several years the international youth climate movement (IYCM) has been growing exponentially. Focused around the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, youth from all over the world have come together, organized, shared ideas, influenced change and returned to their home countries to implement solutions.
I have been photographing this movement for a couple of years and I can safely say that these are the most inspiring group of people that I have ever worked with. They are changing global politics, organizing global days of action and through grassroots campaigns and new media are the leaders of today and tomorrow. Many of the youth that cut their teeth in the IYCM have moved on to policy development, grassroots activism for major NGO’s, or have started organisations that now influence national and global policy, (think 350.org, Energy Action Coalition, GetUP).
In 2009, the youth climate movement exploded, and the youth presence at COP 15 was unprecedented. A new report produced and written by Anna Keenan for the IYCM includes several of my images. It comprehensively details the influence and actions of the IYCM at COP 15 and how these incredible young people are changing the world.
Take a moment to read it and become inspired by the incredible young people that are leading the way towards a sustainable future. Click here to see the report
In 2009, millions of people came together around the world to pressure leaders to sign a legally binding and ambitious deal in Copenhagen. Although the final result in Copenhagen was a failure, 2009 was the year that the climate movement exploded. This energy will carry forward and we will continue to build in numbers until sustainability is achieved.
This multimedia piece looks at the growth of this movement throughout 2009. Take a moment and watch hundreds of those around the world taking action and inspiring others in the fight for climate justice.
All images (unless provided by 350.org) ©Robert van Waarden
Music: Open Road Kisses by The Small Affairs.
Climate change is drastically altering the landscapes and farming industry of the European Continent. From the mountains of Norway to the low lying lands of Italy, from the innovations in the Netherlands to the suffering crops of Romanian farmers, the Project Survival Media team in Europe has explored this issue and produced a multimedia piece. A brief look at the situation, the piece touches on several issues affecting European farmers and shows that climate change is an issue that affects us all. Farmers are on the front line of the climate crisis, and we need strong, coordinated global action on climate change to ensure survival of this industry and our food supplies.
In September of 2008 I joined the British Council of Canada as their photographer on the Cape Farewell Expedition 2008. Our goal was to take an international group of 20+ students into the Arctic to teach them about Climate Change and how to use Art to communicate the message effectively.
“The expedition sailed around the southern tip of Greenland to Iqaluit on Canada’s Baffin Island. As ambassadors of their schools and communities, the student voyagers observed and interpreted the effects of climate change in the Arctic. What they saw and experienced inspired them, their fellow students and communities to seek social and technological solutions to this huge global problem.” British Council Website
The images have been exhibited in a variety of countries world wide, including the Parliament buildings in Ottawa and 9 other provincial governments, the Canadian Embassy in Trafalgar Square, the British Embassy in Washington, in Cairo, Mexico, India, the list goes on. They have also been published in CNN, Canadian Geographic and numerous publications and outlets across the globe. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them.