Fine Art
Happy Earth Day!
In honor of Earth Day, we’d like to share with you the fine art photography of Daniel Beltrá. Born in Madrid, Spain, Daniel Beltrá is a photographer now based in Seattle, Washington.
Beltrá is a celebrated conservation photographer who uses aerial photography to capture the scale and complexity of mankind’s impact on the Earth’s natural resources. Daniel Beltrá has photographed all seven continents in the past two decades. A passionate conservation photographer, he strives to illuminate the effects of global warming.
Daniel Beltrá, Oil Spill 7, 2010. From the SPILL series. Digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 26″ H x 40″ W and 40″ H x 60″ W. Image courtesy of Daniel Beltrá and details courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
Beltrá’s portfolio includes photographs from the Amazon, the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Patagonia ice fields between Chile and Argentina. Beltrá’s best known for his revealing photos of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
As Beltrá told Robert Hirsch in a 2012 interview, he studied forestry and biology while attending university in Spain. He began working as a photographer in 1988, and two years later began as a freelance photographer for Greenpeace. Beltrá’s personal conservation interests and brilliant photography have allowed him to maintain his ties with Greenpeace years later. In fact, Beltrá’s images have been used in nearly every Greenpeace campaign for the last 20 years (as noted by The Seattle Times).
Daniel Beltrá, Oil Spill 8, 2010. From the SPILL series. Mounted digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 26″ H X 40″ W, 40″ H X 60″ W. Image and details courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
To capture the vast transformation of the world’s ecosystem due to human destruction, Beltrá captures his images from the air and sometimes polarizes the film to show what lurks beneath the surface like he did in his SPILL series. This unique aerial perspective helps emphasize Earth’s resources are not limitless.
Beltrá explained to National Geographic the aerial perspective allows his photographs to take on an abstract quality. This enables complex disasters to become beautiful in an unexpected way. When Robert Hirsch asked Beltrá how he reconciled his photographs of disasters being called beautiful and seen as art, Beltrá reaffirmed he’s following his passions of conservation and photography. Clearly the dual passion works in Beltrá’s favor.
Daniel Beltrá, Amazon scarlet ibis (#222), 2017. From the Forests series. Mounted digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 24″ H x 36″ W, 40″ H x 60″ W, 48″ H x 72″ W. Image and details courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
In 2009 Beltrá won the Prince’s Rainforest Project (PRP) Award at the Sony World Photography Awards. This award fully-funded Beltrá’s trips to rainforests in the Amazon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia. PRP and Sony put on a traveling European exhibition of Beltrá’s photographs. The exhibits took place in London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Hotel de Ville in Paris, and the Alexa Centre in Berlin.
In additional to his gallery representation, Beltrá exhibited photographs from SPILL at two aquariums on the West Coast in 2011. Hosting art exhibits at aquariums and these European venues is atypical but were wonderful for sharing his photography and continuing the dialogue of the effects of global warming.
Daniel Beltrá, Greenland 7, 2014. From the GREENLAND series. Mounted digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 24″ H x 36″ W, 40″ H x 60″ W, 48″ H x 72″ W. Image and details courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
Despite his continued successes Beltrá has tirelessly pursued his passions to document the effects of global warming and share his photographs with the world. Beltrá’s GREENLAND series is so breathtaking it’s hard to imagine any underlying conservation concerns. 80% covered in ice Greenland is definitely feeling the effects of global warming.
The Ytri-Rangá River in Iceland carries glacial sediments as the current flows towards the Atlantic Ocean. Daniel Beltrá, Iceland 3, 2014. From the ICELAND series. Mounted digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 24″ H x 36″ W, 40″ H x 60″ W, 48″ H x 72″ W. Image and details courtesy of Daniel Beltrá and Catherine Edelman Gallery.
When Greenland volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010 it left lasting evidence…The landscape melts under the volcanic ash and creates black and white patterned fissures. These fissures cause the ice sheets to separate and crumble. This disaster became the focus of Beltrá’s camera and series.
In 2014 Beltrá also photographed Iceland. The photographs from his ICELAND series are mesmerizing. In this series Beltrá captured melted glacier water with sediment flowing freely in rivers towards deltas and the Atlantic Ocean. A 2017 Reuters article stated over 10 glaciers have melted over time due to changing weather patterns.
Daniel Beltrá, Iceland 1, 2014. From the ICELAND series. Mounted digital chromogenic dye print. Editioned prints in sizes 24″ H x 36″ W, 40″ H x 60″ W, 48″ H x 72″ W. Image and details courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery.
When viewing Beltrá’s photographs, it is not always immediately evident what the underlying meaning of the photograph is. What makes his photographs so perfect is how cleverly and artistically he captures and presents his subject.
Beltrá’s documentation of his passion for conservation invites audiences in for a closer look and discussion. We look forward to his next series and continued efforts to bring greater attention to our environment.
