Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Through Your Lens Photo Contest

To all school students, teachers, parents, and staff: We encourage you to enter the Through Your Lens Photography Contest. This is your opportunity to show Congress and the public what your public schools really look like. The goal is to " raise awareness to the need to ensure that all students have the access to public school buildings that support learning and provide safe, healthy, environments." Ed will be one of the judges for this contest, which ends September 14th.


Spread the word, and get shooting!

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Let This Letter Speak for Itself...

Dear Ed,

Last Christmas Catherine gave her nephew, my son Ben, your stunning book about Nigeria and the oil industry there. I present world history, geography and international news to teenagers in a California middle school, and so I quickly borrowed the book from Ben to use in my classroom.

My students know the book inside out now and one of their favorite pastimes is to open it to the bookmarked pages and review in awe, once again, the intense photographs --- the village by the river almost engulfed in garbage, the bare-chested oil workers laboring in a petroleum-saturated swamp, the women cooking by the burn off of pipes, all of them. Your book has been my most powerful teaching tool in getting through to teenagers just what we mean by pollution or exploitation or selfish economic decisions made by corporations or degraded environmental conditions in third world countries. These ideas are no longer abstract to them because of your important work. Catherine knew you would be happy to know how moving your photographs have proved to be for young people, and how powerfully they have educated those in my school.

Many thanks,
Marilyn Englander
REAL School Marin


Many thanks to you - Catherine and Ben for sharing the book. Marilyn for incorporating the work as educational material for your classes and for your considerate letter. And, thank you to the students for the hope you bring for a better future through a more enlightened generation.


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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

International Photography Awards

Good news! Yesterday we received news that Ed is being honored with two awards in the 2009 International Photography Awards. In the 7th year, IPA received an unanticipated number of entries, nearly 18,000 submissions spanning 104 countries. IPA established itself as an internationally recognized competition that continues to garner the attention of the photography community worldwide.
In the Editorial category, Ed won First Place with his series of images from "Oil in the Niger Delta" (Environmental Pro) and Second place for "Niger Delta, Nigeria."

Check out the International Photography Awards website to see all the winners.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Shell Dialogues

On July 23rd, Shell executives agreed to discuss the crisis in the Niger Delta and answer pre-submitted questions. This agreement to open a dialogue came after Amnesty UK requested that everyone following the cause send Shell messages via Twitter.

The transcript can be found in this document,
where Shell's vice president of communications, regional manager in Nigeria, and others spoke about their impact on the environment and people of Nigeria.
So read and make your own opinions as to Shell's responsibility for environmental and human rights abuses in the Niger Delta.

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Friday, August 7, 2009

Current Project: the Purpose Prize

Ed and videographer Peter Trilling are currently working on a series of 10 multimedia shorts for the Purpose Prize. This project is being produced by the Talking Eyes Media team for Civic Ventures. This is a wonderful example of non-profits working together to create rich media for expanding great causes. Ed and Peter have been compiling interviews and stills on the finalists for this prize, which celebrates the decisive change some Americans have made, from being ordinary men and women to life-impacting social entrepreneurs. The final pieces will be completed and released in late October, when the winners are announced.

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