Chasing Ghosts video here
In their quest to identify the pollinator of the ghost orchid for the first time, this team of conservation photographers and scientists spent three summers standing waist-deep in alligator- and snake-laden water, swatting air blackened by mosquitoes, and climbing to sometimes nausea-inducing heights. They came away with an even deeper love for Florida's wildest wetlands—and with surprising discoveries that may help to conserve both the endangered orchid and its shrinking home. "Chasing Ghosts" was produced for bioGraphic by Grizzly Creek Films (grizzlycreekfilms.com). Read our related story, "Ghosts of the Everglades," and discover more beautiful and surprising stories about nature and sustainability at www.biographic.com.
This video does a great job in showcasing how passionate people can be about ecological projects. I had a bit of trouble during project 1 trying to connect things but pushing through that difficulty can be really rewarding which is shown in this video. It was also really interesting because growing up in Florida, we would go to the springs and rivers all of the time to explore environments like this, so seeing some of the different ecological factors I never knew about was really cool.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Olivia in that this video showcases the labor, obsession, and trial and error that goes into research. The idea of chasing ghosts is a nice metaphor for the passage of time, the accumulation of knowledge, and that which is unknowable. Sometimes "the story" for your projects can be as much about the research/researchers as it is about the natural systems you are studying or that you are focusing on in your art/sci projects. It just depends how you choose to frame it.
ReplyDeleteThis project made me relate to my project 1 as well because of the dedication to process. The passion shown in going to such great lengths for what they are trying to accomplish was inspiring, and the results reminded me that process is not enough and the product is what is considered art. It reminds me to go further and push harder for the result.
ReplyDeleteWhat's amazing about the ecological world is that it is so complex. Even after knowing specific data from Darwin for over 180 years, we are still amazed at the information we are still discovering. What amazed me the most is in the end, they showed how many pictures they had taken, vs how many images of moths they had, 52,173 images vs. 4 images of moths. This chance is amazing, no wonder Darwin didn't know about the other moth. This documentation really showcased the complexity of our natural world.
ReplyDeleteThis video is a great example of the awareness that can be raised through a creative process. The sheer amount of determination and following a process was extremely scientific in nature, but the documentation was rather artistic. It's crazy to think how there are still so many species with very little known about them, and even crazier still to think of how one particular species can serve as an indicator to the state of the ecosystem as a whole.
ReplyDeleteDang this video made me feel like maybe I should go to greater depths (and heights haha) to discover objects to use in my project. Exploring such as these guys are provides a greater sense of appreciation for the ecosystems within Florida. Collecting and documenting are so important to the art process and this example really emphasized that notion of what an artist should do to give it their all in a piece they care about. I'm not sure if I could get past some "fears" I have though, such as wading through deep river waters (like the guy in the film did) where so many predators could be around. As a side note, the camera quality of the flowers, trees, people during interviews, wildlife and plant life, etc was super great in these shots; camera quality can be really vital in producing work that is going to primarily be viewed digitally (something I know we need to keep in mind for this project since we are having online critique of our final piece.)
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