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Meet Your Neighbours is a photographic initiative that reveals

the wildlie living amongst us in an extraordinary way. These

creatures and plants are vital to people: they represent the frst,

and or some, the only contact with wild nature we have. Yet

oten they are overlooked, undervalued.

Meet Your Neighbours dignifes these common species by

giving them celebrity treatment. Each is photographed on

location in a feld studio. A brilliantly-lit white background

removes the context, encouraging appreciation o the

subject as an individual rather than a species. Their own

orm constitutes the composition. Seen this way, animals andplants we thought we knew reveal another side o themselves,

encourage a second glance, perhaps even renewed interest.

The initiative will engage photographers rom around the

world to celebrate these animals and ask people in their

communities to go meet your neighbours. This is conservation

photography at the grass roots level, asking people to careabout their own natural heritage, where they live and showing

them how extraordinary it is in a resh way.

I you are tempted to ask Well, why do we need orchids or

salamanders, woodlice or bullrogs anyway? you may as

well ask, why do we need children, riends, community?

We can live without all these things but our lives are much the

poorer i we do so.

Niall Benvie,Project Co-Founder

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The ConceptMeet Your Neighbours is a global-scale photographic project,

developed to encourage people o all ages to engage and

appreciate the common species and natural environments

within their own communities. Through stunning imagery andunique presentations, our viewers will gain a new understanding

o just how special their own common backyard species are

and be encouraged to take the necessary steps to ensure their

continued survival. It is our goal to nurture a compassion or

even the most humble members o the natural world. Meet Your

Neighbours is a proactive conservation eort aiming to remind

the public that, with care and consideration, todays common

species wont become the rarities o tomorrow.

The LookEach subject is shot in the wildagainst a pure

white background and backlit to highlight its

translucent qualities. The result o the feld-studioapproach is an exceptionally detailed, stunningly gorgeous

series o portraits o common species like youve never seen them

beore! The images show maximum detail itsel oten a

source o ascination. Because all images are created on-

location, the need to harvest plants or transer animals out o

their natural environments is eectively eliminated.

The CampaignImages will be used in a variety o ways to support the Meet

Your Neighbours project. These include: next generation

e-Books with streaming video and sound, a childrens book

series with enhanced digital companion guides, a high

quality coee table style book and an amazing on-

white image catalog rom partnering photographers rom

around the globe. Photos rom the project will also be

displayed in several traditional and non-traditional exhibits,

including projected showings in public areas.

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The Funding & SupportUnlike many large-scale projects, which oten require massive

amounts o unding beore an e ort can get underway, Meet

Your Neighbours has been uniquely structured to avoid this

issue. Partnering photographers will shoot in their home

regions, eliminating the need or long-distance travel and

associated costs. In addition, they will work with regional

sponsors to support their eorts, a undamental point which

serves to not only remove the fnancial burden rom a ew

large donors, but also ensures that regional organizations

have a vested interest in making sure each eort is a success.

With the exception o basic administrative costs, much o the

support that will be required or the project launch may be

donated in-kind by sponsors. Examples o the types o in-kind

donations that we are pursuing include: web hosting, digital

projection equipment (on-loan), exhibition spaces, videography

and, o course, publicity and advertising opportunities.

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The Rewards Meet Your Neighbours is a unique photographic

eort supported by the some o the worlds best nature

photographers

Our message is hopeul and positive; common species

are here, they are amazing and their continued survival is

achievable

Partnering photographers and sponsors will work together

to reveal a very accessible side o nature that the general

public can see, touch and interact with in their own

communities

Participants will also receive positive publicity and

exposure through outlets such as magazine articles,

websites, blogs, books, and multi-media; strengthening

their own conservation message through an association

with Meet Your Neighbours

An opportunity to build relationships with like-minded

businesses and organizations

Access to an amazing photographic archive eaturing a

broad selection o images o common species rom around

the world in amazing detail and style

A way to give back and make a dierence in your local

communities and others around the world through a positive

environmental education and awareness program

For More Information

Clay BoltProject Coordinator & Co-Founder

PH: 1.864.905.8797

EM: clay@earthlink.net

SM: 198 Jenkins WayEasley, South Carolina, 29640

USA

Niall BenvieSenior Advisor & Co-Founder

PH: +44.1356.626.128

EM: niall@niallbenvie.com

SM: 24 Park RoadBRECHIN, Angus, DD9 7AP

Scotland

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Green Veined White Butterfy & Cuckoo Flower(Pieris napi & Cardamine pratensis)

Wet woods & Damp Meadows | Photographed in Norway

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Ladder Snake (Rhinechis scalaris)Temperate Forests & Shrubland | Photographed in Spain

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Rosyside Dace (Clinostomus funduloides) & Yellow-Fin Shiner (Notropis lutipinnis)Rivers & Streams | Photographed in the United States

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Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris)Dry Woodlands & Open Areas | Photographed in Estonia

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Pool Frog (Rana lessonae)Vegetated Wetlands | Photographed in Estonia

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Yellow Ladies Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus)Open Woodlands | Photographed in France

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Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica)Dry, Rocky Habitats | Photographed in Spain

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Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)Wetlands | Photographed in the United States