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Colin Finlay: Photographer, Environmentalist .

Presented by: Shyle Vandewalker

Collinfinlay.net

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Contents1. Title Slide

2. Table of contents

3. Biography

4. Arctic warming

5. Glacial melt

6. Drought in Sudan

7. Famine in Sudan

8. Plight of the polar bear

9. Plight of the polar bear

10. Coal mining

11. Removing mountain tops

12. People of West Virginia

13. Finlay’s new book

14. References

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“Colin Finlay is one of the foremost documentary photographers in the world. He has been awarded the prestigious Picture of the Year International (POYi) honor six times. For almost twenty five years, Finlay has documented the human condition

with compassion, empathy and dignity. He has covered war and conflict, disappearing traditions, the environment in both its glory and its devastation,

genocide, famine, religious pilgrimage and global cultures. In pursuit of his passion, he has circled the globe twenty-seven times, in search of that one photo that will be a testament to the depth of human will and compassion, of hope and

of an informed collective consciousness.”

--Colinfinlay.net

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Collin Finlay has considered himself an environmentalist since the mid 90’s when he was sent to Romania to cover oil leaks that were a result of World War II.

Since that time he has traveled the globe giving us insight into the domino effect of climate change and in the process finding some stunning, well crafted photos.

In the last 50 years the water temperature surrounding the arctic has risen by six degrees. --Colinfinlay.net

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Finlay has many beautiful aerial photos. This is a glacier in Iceland that is melting away as a result of global warming. With aerial photos we are able to see the issue on a wider scale and hopefully the gravity of the situation is better felt by the viewer.

–colinfinlay.net

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In the last 30 years annual rainfall in the Sahel desert has decreased by 25%

Less rain means less crops. Less crops means more famine.

This photo Finlay took in South Sudan where the average refugee camp uses 265,000 gallons of water per day.

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Finlay captures the feeling of desperation in this shot, again from Sudan. -colinfinlay.net

Finlay makes it a point to get shots like this in a respectful manner. He allows his subjects to have their dignity even in their most harrowing times.

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Scientist predict that two thirds of the earths polar bears will be gone by the year 2050, including all of the Alaskan polar bears.

By 2040 the entire Hudson Bay population will be wiped out.

This photo again sourced form colinfinlay.net, shows excellent depth of field. It allows the viewer to feel as if the bear is right in front of them and hopefully puts their plight at the front of the viewers consciousness.

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This well composed photo from Finlay’s website colinfinlay.net shows the native home of the polar bear melting away.

Each decade the Arctic sees a loss of ice twice the size of Texas

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In the U.S. 100 tons of coal are extracted every two seconds.

Over 700 miles of healthy streams have been buried and thousands more damaged.

Here we have another beautiful aerial pulled from collinfinlay.net

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Here we have the removal of a mountain top in West Virginia.

People may not understand the great lengths of destruction we are willing to go through in order to generate a profit from our never ending thirst for energy.

These photos from colinfinlay.net were done as aerials not only because it is a breathtaking style but also because the oil and coal companies would never let anyone in their gates to take photos.

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Both of these photos show people who live near coal mining operations.

In the top picture we see what a families hands look like after running them across the railings on their front porch.

Below we see a woman framed in a window. She has painted a mural on her wall of what the mountains used to look like before the coal mining began.

colinfinlay.net

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Finlay’s latest work is a collaboration with a journalist, Dorka Keehn. A book highlighting female involvement in the environment.

“Eco Amazons brings together for the first time the women leading the charge to ensure a healthy and safe environment for all life on earth. Through intimate interviews conducted by journalist Dorka Keehn and arresting images by award winning photographer Colin Finlay, Eco Amazons calls attention to this century’s critical environmental challenges by focusing on the remarkable women developing solutions and guiding us towards a sustainable future.” –ecoamazons.com

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References1. colinfinlay.net Almost all of the pictures were sourced from

this site.

2. http://www.treehugger.com/culture/th-interview-colin-finlay-world-renowned-photographer-and-environmental-activist.html An interview Finlay gave 08/2008

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcnHbRav58U A Ted Talk from 07/2012

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORSY_OFTPGQ A speech given by Finlay in 2008

5. http://www.ecoamazons.com/about-the-book/ The official website for the book “Eco Amazons” for which Finlay contributed the photography