Photo activist you say?

Direct, challenging, and in your face. That is the power of photography I want to harness to deliver eco messages that pack a punch.

As a photography graduate of Parsons School of Design and with experience as both a photographer and photo editor, I've got the inside scoop into the infinite possibilities of clean, striking visual storytelling. I know just how effective the right image can be at the right time, and the kind of impact that image can have upon an audience who might not have previously been engaged with an issue, brand or subject. Why use the image just to shout doom and gloom on the front of the newspaper? I want to use it to spread awareness, inspire communities, and empower the world to make a difference for the better.

And it all starts right here in New York City...

NYC is sometimes referred to as the cement capital of the world. Giant concrete skyscrapers serrate the skyline, and a plethora of polluting industries are crowded in the outer boroughs. At the same time NYC is on the frontline of climate change and energy issues. Power outage for over eleven hours? Say good bye to your subway. Rising sea levels by just 2 feet? Well, say goodbye to a whole chunk of the island!

Yet New York also happens to be home to some extraordinary environmental oases,  like the Jamaica Bay Salt Marshes. Sitting next to JFK airport the Salt Marshes are over 26 thousand acres of wetlands housing 325 species of birds, 91 species of fish, and hundreds of threatened and even endangered special species. On Earth Day 2009, a major project grant was issued to save and restore the marshes over the next several years, which, unless we take action, have been predicted to disappear by 2020. Forget reading about this stuff, I will show you what it looks like.

What I've got up my sleeve...

Within the city, as well as beyond it, I’ve also been using the environment as the subject of my fine art work. From an ongoing project shooting snow covered landscapes, to seascapes around the world, my website www.andreabakacs.com is where I showcase my fine art photography of the natural world, which I hope changes the way a viewer sees the environment around them. Currently, I'm working on a project called “Plastic Blooms” all about plastic bags and balloons in trees throughout the city. I’m serious, look up once in a while and you’ll see what I mean!

How I'm going to do this...

For the past two years I’ve authored a blog about other photographers’ environmental work. The blog does exactly what it says – it’s called Photography for a Greener Planet. I've recently started working with the Majora Carter Group to help amass and edit a photograhic and video library mapping its green course across the world. I’m currently freelance, but in the past when working within corporations I’ve campaigned for better paper use at Martha Stewart Living and Seventeen magazines, encouraged local photographers to “green” their shoots, started recycling programs across multiple departments, and began conversations with heads of print production to make them aware of the most cutting edge green technologies available to them.

I think the resurgence of the green movement in America is the coolest thing to have happened in decades, but it isn’t and can’t be just a fashion or trend. Come join me and be part of the solution. I could certainly use your help, and it's sure to be an interesting ride!