How Photography Can Save the Earth

HOW ART CAN SAVE THE EARTH


"The smallest stone sends its ripples to the edge." ~ Pierre Chardin


(The 11th Hour series about global climate change; shot by Jose G. Cano. Full image HERE ). 



 [ THE MISSION ]

As our Earth's CO2 levels have officially passed the 400 ppm mark, now, more than ever, we need innovative, creative tools and messages to catapult the environmental movement to the forefront of both the public and political arenas.

This underwater dance conservation imagery series was pioneered to empower and inspire people to make personal changes in their daily lives - new habits, that will grow and magnify to larger movements and dictate policy level changes.

By supporting this completely unique approach to communicating conservation issues, together we can create an ocean revolution.

It is time, now, for us to choose differently. 
To shape a vision of an ocean with a future. 

Please help me create the next images in my series.



(Series title: 'Silent Killers;' shot by Jose G. Cano. Click HERE for high-res versions.)


 [ THE SERIES ]    

Each image in the series pairs with an inspirational video that shines light on a different ocean conservation issue - coral bleaching, plastic pollution, mangrove deforestation, global warming - and ties in with a clear call-to-action about what each of us can do on a daily basis to enact changes for the environment



New habits take time to root, and require social support to truly sprout. Over a 30 day period, each series in the project asks that viewers take small daily actions to support the ocean. Past series campaigns have empowered people to vote with their wallets and buy only sustainable seafood (#JellyfIshSoup), as well as remove all plastic purchases from their lives (#BlindSpots).

Click HERE to see more of the short films.




[ THE NEED]

Covered recently by KQED , National Geographic / the Carl Safina Center, FStoppers , The Phoblographer, and more, in order to continue adding content to this series, I need to raise enough funds to pay the artists involved in the next concepts we're planning to shoot in Los Angeles. 



COMING UP NEXT IN THE SERIES...

       - The Red Road (about coral bleaching)
       - The Dea Sea (a composite centered around the ocean's dead zones)
       - There are some things you just can't clean up (an ocean trawling concept)




Because there are so many uncontrollable variables with shooting underwater, countless hours go into finalizing the images, as well as capturing them.

For this next series, I have an incredible team lined-up. I'll be working again with Brett Stanley

AND

the incredible body paint artist, Lana Chromium, featured on Skin Wars. 



HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN! 


I am raising $2,500 to bring the ocean conservation concepts mentioned above to life with this amazing team of artists that has assembled.

To-date, this project has mostly self-funded. I've managed to leverage my personal resources and network to get this far, but to continue creating, I need your help to fund and share.

And if I can raise above the target amount of $2,500, all proceeds will go towards future concepts' development and implementation in the series.


[ THE ARTIST ]


With a Master’s in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), Christine is a documentary filmmaker and underwater performer with a dedication to advancing social and environmental causes and a penchant for writing .

With her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, advanced open-water scuba certification, experience running an ecommerce business and more than 20 years as a dancer, she’ll be the first to admit that her skillsets and work history are an eclectic mix. It is precisely this diverse background, however, that has equipped her to revolutionize the way we connect and empower for social change through cutting-edge media techniques.


Find me online at:

| Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Vimeo | LinkedIn |


[ HOW IT'S DONE ] 

(BTS on set in New Zealand.) 

The process to create each image series is intense. Fabricating props and designing costumes from scratch is only the beginning. All the pre-production aspects take months to assemble, while the actual shoot typically lasts about 5-7 hours start to finish.

('The 11th Hour,' shot by Jose G. Cano.)

The shots for my recently released series, Silent Killers, and The 11th Hour,  were shot in New Zealand with Jose G. Cano. Jose handled the meticulous and intense technical setups for the shots with the prowess of a seasoned studio photographer. While I assisted, captured the BTS on film, and busied myself with practicing with the props and fabrics. 

An incredible amount of strength and stamina is required to "dance" underwater. As the performer, I have to continuous dive 10 feet down, fix my hair, relax my face, emote, position my body in a completely disorienting medium, and try to hold a pose without the help of gravity - all while wearing various types of fabric that weigh me down.

Needless to say, it's tiring and challenging work, but it's the results achieved, and the cause it's all benefiting that makes everything worth it in the end.

('Silent Killers,' shot by Jose G. Cano.)

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If you believe art can change hearts and mind, then

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TODAY! 

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Each donation continues to help me make this dream a reality. 



MY DEEPEST THANKS! 



<3 CHRISTINE REN