Mission Statement
Our Mission
Blue Earth believes documentary photography can inspire positive change. We support visual storytelling on critical environmental and social issues through direct assistance to photographers and a collaborative community of professionals.
The link between compelling documentary photography and our collective motivation to change attitudes, behavior, even policies - is strong. Eddie Adams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a Vietcong execution in Saigon forever changed how the world viewed the Vietnam War. Brazilian photojournalist Sebastio Salgado’s images of the impoverished portray human life with fresh dignity and compassion. Maintaining this link is central to the mission of Blue Earth.
Through our support of Photography that Makes a Difference, Blue Earth has helped raise almost a million dollars for important issues often overlooked by traditional media--The Arctic. Global warming. The loss of open space in Los Angeles. Racism suffered by farmers. Disappearing traditions of New England fishermen. The role of grandmothers in AIDS-ravaged Africa.
Our sponsored projects have been at the forefront of issues affecting contemporary society--John Trotter’s No Agua, No Vida investigates the Southwest’s limited water resources; Perry Dilbeck’s Truck Farmers: The Last Harvest chronicles the loss of independent farming; and Florian Schultz’s Yellowstone to Yukon promotes the unification of animal migration routes and habitats across international borders.
We work closely with our selected photographers to offer resources and support including:
- Non-profit, fiscal sponsorship for fundraising
- Grant-writing consultation
- Marketing and PR expertise
- Contacts for publishers, galleries and museums
- Technical resources like Shooting From the Heart, a Blue Earth-published instructional book for personal projects
- Experienced Advisory Board to answer questions and provide guidance
View a complete list of direct services Blue Earth provides to our sponsored projects.
