Why we are in the Gulf

This is a week-long project to document the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico and bring a first hand report back to the TEDxOilSpill event in Washington DC on June 28th. We’ll be working on land, air, and maybe even on boat. Our team is composed of several talented photographers and videographers. In addition to documentation of oil on the water and on the beach, we’re particularly interested in the human side of the equation and will be talking to some of the people most affected by the catastrophe in the Gulf. We’ll also be documenting any and all evidence of media interference by BP, the Coast Guard, or other officials.

During the week, we’ll be posting public dispatches from the field through a variety of outlets and are looking to get coverage at all levels from our own personal blogs all the way up to major media outlets. We’ll be working with writers both in the field and remotely to help communicate our story.

The capstone of the project will be a presentation delivered at the TEDxOilSpill event. This will set the stage with a first-hand report to the participants of the event, whether they are in the room or part of the live stream. We’ll also prepare prints for display at the event so that participants have easy access to the context of the current crisis.

After the event, the team of photographers and videographers will create further media deliverables based on their individual availability of time and resources. Tentative plans include documentary videos, slideshows, and possibly a print-on-demand photo book. Each team member will spearhead their own use of their assets, but we’ll be heavily cooperating to help each other’s projects out.

The members of this expedition are passionate about this project. We’ve watched the situation in the Gulf unfold and have been horrified and outraged both by the actions of the operators of the well as well as the response. We’ve been dismayed by the response we’ve seen so far. We’ve been wondering what we can do—with our own talents—to help out. This is our answer.

What can we do in a week that others in the Gulf aren’t already doing? To be sure, the events in the Gulf have been on the media. Some photographs have come out. Through all of our connections in the photography and video communities, however, we’re convinced that the story is underreported. The underreporting is systemic from the magnitude of the spill—originally reported at ridiculously low numbers and which still may be underreported—to the media access granted.

While a small team certainly won’t tip the balance, we’re committed to expanding the number of photographs made and the amount of video produced documenting this event for the world. We’re also outside the scope of the major media networks who have to balance out immediate access with ongoing relationships with local officials. We have no such restrictions. We will push harder than the press photographers in the area to overcome or work around local interference.

We’re going to the Gulf to be a witness. We’re going to be a first hand witness for the participants of the TEDxOilSpill event. We’ll also be a witness for the world at large. No crime—especially one this large against the environment, the economy of the Gulf states, the people who live there, and the life that inhabits the Gulf of Mexico—can have too many witnesses.

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