As part of the PhotoArk exhibition at Melbourne Zoo, members were invited to a "Breakfast with Joel Satore", the photographer behind the PhotoArk project. This exciting opportunity to meet the man behind the project was certainly something not something to pass up, even if it meant a very early morning start.
Arriving at Melbourne Zoo before 7am and meeting up with other members was a special experience. Jay Town from the Herald-Sun newspaper and our instructor at the Nikon School events was there too and we got to have a brief chat as we walked in.
Putting all the camera gear down in one corner and after grabbing a coffee, this nice gentleman standing nearby starts asking me about the gear and if it takes good quality sharp pictures. Naturally I take out the iPad to show him this recent photo of the big male Gorilla and tell him the story of how I managed to capture the shot.
After showing him the photo and telling the story, he comments on how good the photo is and how he likes how it looks like the gorilla is looking down the lens. I thank him for the compliment and then introduce myself to him. "I’m Matthew", I say, extending a hand. Shaking my hand he says, "I’m Joel". A bit awestruck that this is THE man who’s photos I’ve been encouraging everyone to come into the zoo and see, I immediately congratulate him on his fantastic and inspiring work before asking if he would mind signing my copy of his book. Joel kindly signs it for me with "Let’s save them all" and then it is time for us all to sit down and hear Joel to give his talk.
Joel’s talk provided us with a roller-coaster of emotions as we laughed at some of the situations he encountered in his travels and cried at some of the heartbreaking stories behind some of the animals in the PhotoArk. Throughout the talk though, Joel’s passion to motivate others by his photographs to save species from the threat of extinction was ever present. His most profound analogy of earth really struck home with many in the audience.
Imagine you are flying in a plane and you notice one of the rivets in the wing coming loose. You probably wouldn’t be too worried by that, but if you saw hundreds of rivets coming loose you’d be looking round for a parachute. That’s what is happening today. Hundreds of species are threatened with extinction and there is no parachute.
Zoos Victoria is helping the fight against extinction, drawing a line in the sand and saying, "Not on my watch" to the extinction of species, but everyone on earth needs to do more. There are some very simple things we can do, as Joel and Dr Jenny Gray (CEO Zoos Victoria) explained. Visiting one of the three Zoos Victoria sites is just the start. To find out more about what you can do, check out the Zoos Victoria website’s Fighting Extinction section.
Following the talk, Joel kindly signed books and posed for photos with many of those present before heading off to give a special presentation at the Nikon School and photograph another special animal for the PhotoArk.
After such an awesome way to start the day, I headed off to visit one of my favourites from Melbourne Zoo, the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger. Zoos Victoria is part of the worldwide captive breeding programme attempting to ensure that these magnificent cats are not only seen in zoos or photographs, but thriving in the wild.
