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WONDER WOMAN AIMS TO SAVE PEOPLE & PLANET WITH BEAUTIFUL IMAGES

A close-up of a Kayapó woman with a bright blue bird resting on her face in Papua New Guinea.
by Cristina Mittermeier. “Bird Lady.” Papua New Guinea.

CRISTINA MITTERMEIER

Can Wonder Woman save our planet?

Photographer Cristina Mittermeier is a force of nature + creativity + genius talent. She is, no doubt, a Wonder Woman. She gathers her strengths & power to help save the lands and lives of indigenous, people which she believes are keystones to saving the entire planet -- and all of us.

Indigenous man looks out over his forest in the Brazilian Amazon.

“Conservation and indigenous cultures are two parts of the same issue,” Mittermeier explains. “In fact, given that so many of the last wild places on our planet are also the ancestral lands of indigenous people, we really cannot hope to achieve conservation outcomes without including the participation of the communities that are stewards of those resources.”

Indigenous Kayapó girl holds her pet parrot in Brazil.

Mittermeier’s muses include powerful women like esteemed oceanographer Sylvia Earle and iconic scientist and author Rachel Carson, considered by many to be the “mother” of the conservation movement. Mittermeier is also inspired by her own children, given their love of nature and their need to inherit a healthy planet.

A group of indigenous tribesmen in Papua New Guinea

Mittermeir began her career as a volunteer photographer with Conservation International. She soon realized that her true superpower was the power of communication via visual language and storytelling.

Indigenous girl plays in the water in Brazil.

“I want my images to make people care. I want to move people away from apathy and into action,” Mittermeier explains. “I want people to be so overwhelmed by emotion that they are inspired to, first of all, be aware of what impact their choices have on our environment, and then make some changes that are in alignment with sustainability and climate changes solutions.”

An indigenous boy climbs down a ladder into the Punta Laguna in Mexico.

There are stories of vital importance to tell. From the Arctic, to the Amazon, to Antarctica, land, water, wildlife, habitats, and people are at serious risk -- or are already destroyed.

For decades now, for example, the indigenous people of the Amazon River basin have been seriously hurt by the impacts of illegal logging, mining, cattle ranching, and soybean plantations.

Indigenous children play in the waterfall in Brazil.

One of Mittermeier’s current big pushes is against the damming of Amazon River tributaries in Brazil. The government and industry wants the dams to generate energy, 70% of which will go to households hundreds of miles away, while 30% will go to support the mining industry.

Indigenous children walk onto shore of the Amazon River in Brazil.

But, dams will cut off the main source of drinking water and food for many indigenous people who live at the water’s edge. Dams will prevent the people from traveling along the river, trapping them in their tiny communities since their are no roads or other means of transportation.

Mittermeier believes these encroachments mark the beginning of the end of the Amazon region as we know it.

An indigenous girl smiles at her pet pygmy owl in Brazil.

Mittermeier wants to sound the alarms, but she also wants her images to communicate a story of hope. “I want my images to present a dignified portrait that emphasizes empathy and our common humanity. I want my images to show people a new way of seeing things and take them to places that they might never get to visit themselves with the aim of highlighting how everything on this planet is connected. If my work can inspire an army of people who care, then I have done my job.”

An indigenous girl plays in the water in Hawaii.

Mittermeier works with a methodology known as a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition), which deploys teams of photographers to scout for environmental danger and to visually record what is about to be lost. The goal is to share those with people who might be able to change the course of events.

Two young indigenous girls fish and play in the water in Madagascar.

By working with international photographers as “on the ground witnesses,” and reaching out to the media, Mittermeier and her colleagues were able to create a ground swell of of support and really make a significant impact.

An indigenous boy and his pet llama in Peru.

In the Flathead River Valley, in Montana, for example, Mittermeiers teams were instrumental in halting mountaintop removal projects in perpetuity. And in La Paz, Mexico, they helped create a new protected area in the Bay of Balandra.

An indigenous woman with traditional face paint smiles in Brazil.

Despite the overwhelming challenges, Mittermeier is a perennial optimist. She believes that we are experiencing a global awakening and that huge issues, like climate change, will be solved in our lifetimes. She is most encouraged by the many other people she meets who also care about preserving the ecological integrity of our planet and who are working hard to protect endangered species, fragile ecosystems and the cultural knowledge of indigenous people.

An indigenous man wears a traditional head piece and jewelry.

“Perhaps the most important message I want to convey through my work is that humans and nature are inextricably linked and that we need to find a more harmonious, less exploitative relationship with our natural world if we want to preserve the ecological integrity of our planet.”

Mittermeier has some simple ideas for how we can all make a big impact: 1) Take personal responsibility. 2) Make conscious choices about politics, investments, and purchases.

An indigenous mother and child play in the water in Brazil.

Mittermeier is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, one of only nine photographers representing Sony's new cameras. She was recently recognized as one of the World’s top 40 Most Influential Outdoor Photographers by Outdoor Magazine. She is a past recipient of the Nature’s Best/Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year award and the North American Nature Photographer’s Association Mission Award.

Photographer, writer and conservationist Cristina Mittermeier holds her camera while sitting in a boat.

Mittermeier is the founder and former President of the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers, a consortium of some of the best photographers on the planet who are actively working for conservation. She is also the co-founder and Executive Director of SeaLegacy.

Check out Mittermeier’s 24 beautiful coffee table books and her TEDx talk to learn even more.

Check out Mittermeier’s current exhibition, "The Water's Edge," at the Paul Nicklen Gallery in New York (closes 07.15.17).

Watching her family's flock of sheep, this indigenous girl eagerly waits for a chance to go play.

Read more about Beautiful Wonder Women in Wonder Woman Mermaid Empowers Women & Girls, Wonder Women Begin As Wonder Girls, Wonder Woman Horse Whisperer and Wonder Women = Wonder Men.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

Indigenous children return home in a boat on the Amazon River in Brazil.

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An indigenous girl plays in the ocean in Hawaii.

IMAGE CREDITS:

  1. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Bird Lady.” Papua New Guinea.
  2. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “A member of the Kayapo tribe looks out over his forest in the Brazilian Amazon.” Brazil.
  3. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Kayapó Girl with Pet Parrot.” Brazil.
  4. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Bubblegum.” Papua New Guinea.
  5. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Belo Monte dam boats.” Brazil.
  6. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “The watery grave of Punta Laguna.” Mexico.
  7. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier.“Kayapó.” Brazil.
  8. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Belo Monte dam- boats.” Brazil.
  9. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Pygmy Owl.”
  10. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Mahaka child.” Hawaii.
  11. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Two Girls and a Net.” Madagascar.
  12. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Pet llama.” Peru.
  13. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Kayapó.” Brazil.
  14. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. An indigenous man wears a traditional head piece and jewelry.
  15. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Kayapo, Brazil.”
  16. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. Photographer, writer and conservationist Cristina Mittermeier uses her camera to document the intersection of wild nature and humans.
  17. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Shepard.”
  18. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier. “Belo Monte dam boats.” Brazil.
  19. Image: by BN App - Download now!
  20. Image: by Cristina Mittermeier.“Tidal Fun.” Hawaii.
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