Mountainfilm in Telluride guest: a “Rare” man indeed

21 May Mountainfilm in Telluride guest: a “Rare” man indeed

[click “Play” to listen to Joel Sartore’s conversation with Susan]

It’s been a long and winding road from the Wichita Eagle to Mountainfilm in Telluride, where photographer Joel Sartore is a guest presenter at the opening Moving Mountains Symposium. He is also scheduled to give a talk about  the findings in his latest book. Both events focus on the crisis of extinction.

“We are living in the sixth major extinction on this planet and the first one to be caused by humans,” says Festival Director David Holbrooke. “The statistics are staggering. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-off since the loss of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It’s estimated that a species dies off every 20 minutes. Some scientists predict that between 30 and 50 percent of all species will be extinct by mid-century. E.O. Wilson says that biodiversity is the key to life on this planet and that its collapse is the biggest threat we are facing.”

When astronomy and beekeeping failed to light his fire, Sartore turned to photojournalism and it stuck. His commitment to the environment lead to a focus on the natural world and a career as a regular contributor (for two decades) to National Geographic Magazine. His spare, yet full work has also appeared in Time, Life, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. He is also a regular on CBS Sunday Morning.

Joel Sartore, a lifelong Nebraskan, is co-founder of the Grassland Foundation and a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, whose mission is to translate conservation science into compelling visual messages about the beauty and wonder of the natural world  – and its daunting challenges. The list of his awards date back to the mid-1980s. This year, he was honored as the North American Nature Photography Association’s 2010 Photographer of the Year

Sartore has written several books, including “Photographing Your Family,” “Face to Face with Grizzlies”, and” Nebraska: Under a Big Red Sky.” His most recent work is “Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species.”

When a  number of  photographs in “Rare” first appeared in the January 2009 issue of National Geographic Magazine, they were hailed as stunning reminders of the more than 1200 plants and animals on the brink of extinction. “Rare” underlines Sartore’s lifelong commitment to sustainability and represents his three-year investigation into the Endangered Species Act and the creatures it exists to protect.

With “Rare,” Sartore proves himself to be a heavyweight champion of conservation photography, a rare man indeed.

Mountainfilm in Telluride takes place over the long Memorial weekend, May 28 – May 31.

Final film selections available at: http://www.mountainfilm.org/festival/2010/films.asp

Full details of Mountainfilm in Telluride’s 32nd annual festival schedule: http://www.mountainfilm.org/festival/2010/online-schedule/index.html.