Bridget Besaw tells the story of the human connection to the natural world. The primary inspiration for her work is environmental protection.
During her years as a newspaper and magazine photographer, Bridget won numerous national press awards for stories on the depletion of natural resources. Among publications Bridget created feature stories for: Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, Smithsonian, National Geographic Adventure and Nature Conservancy Magazine. Bridget’s passion for these stories led to her niche in producing exhibits, books and short films for environmental organizations. Bridget has now published two books in partnership with environmental organizations: Wildness Within, Wildness Without and From the Land.
Bridget’s projects have tackled issues such as development threats to northern Maine’s wilderness, loss of working farmland in New England, restoration of crucial salmon habitat in the North Pacific, threats to wild rivers and arid grasslands in South America, climate change research and prevention in Indonesian forests, and sustainable fisheries initiatives throughout the world. Organizations who have partnered with Bridget to create photography projects include: Maine Farmland Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Patagonia, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Chewonki Foundation, The Kittredge Foundation, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Penobscot River Restoration Trust and Patagonia Sur Foundation.
As principle of Seedlight Productions, Bridget uses her 15+ years of experience as a photojournalist to document, and then to craft emotional stories that rely on meaningful narrative and compelling characters. Bridget’s work is often praised for its visual beauty combined with a “salt of the earth” genuine documentary feel.
In 2009 Bridget founded Seedlight Workshops to teach conservation storytelling to photographers seeking to combine their love of nature, their passion for environmental issues and their love of photography. Since then Bridget has led 3 successful “Conservation Photojournalism” workshops in partnership with Leica and Maine conservation organization partners at Maine Media Workshops as well as her 2012 “Preserving Patagonia” workshop at the Patagonia Sur Reserves.
To see the images created in previous workshops see the MMW page here: http://www.mainemedia.edu/workshops/photography/people-nature-conservation-photojournalism
To hear what past participants have said about her workshops: visit http://www.seedlightworkshops.com/feedback/
Bridget’s work is supported by Leica Camera Company and is represented by Aurora Pictures.
Visit http://bridgetbesaw.com/ to learn more.