Written by Elizabeth St John// Photography by Cristina Mittermeier
An interview with Cristina Mittermeier
On a rainy Saturday afternoon in New York City’s artist-centric SoHo neighborhood, an entrance queue had formed for the long-awaited opening of the Paul Nicklen Gallery. It was Earth Day, and hundreds had come out to see the world renowned National Geographic photo-journalists, Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier in person.
The gallery was packed. Wall to wall people discussed the striking images, some shown for the very first time to the public, as Paul signed copies of his “Polar Obsession” book, Cristina had positioned herself at the entrance, personally greeting each visitor with a smile, patiently answering questions and just generally making everyone feel at home with her characteristic Mexican warmth.
Cristina is a force for nature. A few years back, she and Paul Nicklen teamed up to form SeaLegacy. The purpose? To create powerful images and media that inspire people to act and thus protect our fragile oceans. A marine biologist by education, and award winning photographer; for two decades she has focused her lens on the fragile human-nature balance, particularly on human wellbeing and healthy ecosystems. She has produced 24 stunning coffee table books focused on conservation issues, she is the founder and former president of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP); is a member of the elite Sony Artisans of Imagery group, sits on the board of the WILD Foundation, is part of the Chairman’s Council for Conservation International and is on the advisory board for Wild Seas and Waters Program and the Marine Wilderness 10+10 Project.
I met Cristina while we were both with Conservation International, over a decade ago. Though often continents apart, we have managed to remain in touch through our mutual love of art, nature and the indigenous peoples we both care so much about. Intrigued by the gallery opening, I decided to sit down with her over coffee and get her feedback on how art can help save the world.
Elizabeth St John: You’ve often spoken of the hardships and isolation of your time on assignment, can you shed a little light on what you think about during these long periods alone?
Cristina Mittermeier: I am always so happy not to be in the office, the hardships are the least of my worries. Lately I have been working a lot in regions of the world that are really cold, and I just have to remember that, in an hour, when I get out of the water, and I can take a nice hot shower, there will be a nice cup of tea waiting for me and I will be fine. (laughter)
So the hardships never last too long, and it helps me to focus on the fact that we are really working on a larger mission, trying to inspire people and if you keep that in mind while you’re working on a situation that’s difficult, the hardships will go away a lot faster.
As a visual artist with several decades worth of images, what would you say is the most important message of your body of work?
Its interesting when you look at a body of work that spans two decades, and you go back to the very beginning to realize, that the focus of your work has never really changed. For me, its always been about connecting humans to nature, and the more I delve into it, the more I’m thinking is about its connecting humans specifically to the oceans, to the waters edge, to our reliance on healthy ecosystems and to the sacred ecology that peoples that still remember how to live sustainably on this planet.
Having accomplished so much already as both an artist and conservationist, you’ve recently co-founded SeaLegacy with fellow photographer and biologist Paul Nicklen. What are your goals for the next few years for both SeaLegacy and you personally as an artist?
We specifically chose to work around the theme of oceans because it is the largest ecosystem on our planet, the most important ecosystem for planetary stability and its one that has been difficult to photograph. We really wanted to shine a light on the issues and the solutions and the importance of the ocean so for the next 10 years we are going to be carrying out expeditions to the far reaches of the oceans, trying to find stories of success, places that are threatened and challenged, and in need of help. We are trying to inspire people to join in our journey digitally but also help us to find solutions to create a better planet.
Your work is an inspiration to your photographers around the world. What advice would you offer to them, and what challenges can they expect?
The single most important advice I can give to a young photographer is to find that “thing” that he or she is passionate about and wrap the photography around it. Photography is a very difficult career it’s a long, long journey to achieve any tangible results, and if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, its going to be very difficult to sustain over the long term. Whereas, if you find that thing, that’ you’re passionate about, whether you make, or not as a photographer, you will still be making a difference.
What triggered your career change from biologist to photographer?
It was the need to communicate. The fact that science is a very dry and elitist way of communicating to people. People don’t really read scientific reports, so photography was just a more democratic and available way to communicate and share.
Having come in contact with wildlife most people never get to experience; what’s been your favorite encounter thus far?
I really enjoy spending time with animals…any kind…especially big ones, but I have to say that most amazing experiences have been centered around swimming with orcas because so very few people get to do it and its SUCH a big animal, and they are so intelligent. Because of the way they communicate, through echo-location, you can FEEL how they are sensing what you are and where you are…you can feel the echo-location passing through your body. So even if I don’t understand what the orca is saying I know that its talking to me. Its amazing.
Tell me a little bit about your adopted home of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, and why its so important to you it be protected?
Its very interesting, Canada has the largest coastline of any country. It has coastline on 3 major oceans, the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic and of the G20 countries, Canada is the one that has the least marine protection in the world. So its really embarrassing. Canada is a signatory of the Convention of Biological Diversity so they have committed, like everybody else, to protected 20% of their coastline by 2020. Today they have protected less than 0.1%. So it is really embarrassing.
The Salish Sea, where I live, its my backyard, is one of the most productive, beautiful, wonderful really, seas in the world. It goes from Puget Sound to Campbell River, we have some of the largest herring spawn in the world, huge salmon runs, humpbacks, orcas, a vibrant underwater ecosystem where everything is covered in life – and at the same time, it’s a coastline that’s suffering great industrial development very quickly.
So we wanted to propose the Salish Sea as a World Heritage Site, and change the narrative around the future of the Salish Sea to say, you know, we have a decision to make and we can choose to be an industrial coastline or we can choose to be super natural British Columbia.
What can our readers do to get more involved with SeaLegacy and conservation in general?
At SeaLegacy we are about to launch a partnership with a new app that is going to change the way that we do commerce through social media, and the way that we engage with the charities and retailers that we interact with every day. When this app goes live, its called KARGOE, we are going to be using the power of our social media reach to change the way that we interact with nature and how we consume. So instead of a customer buying a one of your wedding dresses from Nordstrom’s, for example, you are going to be able to KARGOE it directly from Elizabeth St John and we are going to eliminate the middle-man. Its all going to be done through your social network, and that way, we are going to stop making millionaires that rape and pillage nature and give the power back to the people.
Cristina’s work will be featured at the Paul Nicklen gallery in New York City beginning June 10th, World Oceans Day. To learn more about her, and purchase some of her images, please visit her website: www.CristinaMittermeier.com.
To learn more about her work with her partner Paul Nicklen, and how you can be part of the conservation conversation, please visit their website; www.SeaLegacy.org
Elizabeth, a climatologist and ethnographer by education, currently follows her other passions as a couture fashion and accessories designer when not engaging with nature. Her eco-collections can be found on her websites: www.ElizabethStJohn.com and www.HaydenHarlow.com