A Milestone for Meet Your Neighbours

Today, April 30th, 2010, marks a milestone for Meet Your Neighbours. Early on, it was decided that this date would mark the last day that we would be accepting photographer applications for the project. When Niall Benvie and I first launched Meet Your Neighbours back in February, we knew that it was a unique concept, but had no idea that it would take wings as quickly as it has done.

To date, we have received applications from an amazing group of photographers representing North America, South and Central America, Africa, Europe, the UK, Australia, and Japan. There is a healthy mix of professional and serious non-professional photographers; some of which you may know and others that you will get to say hello to for the very first time. Perhaps most importantly, this talented group of individuals has come forward to participate in this project because they all share a common love for their local wildlife, and have a willingness to tell their local communities why they should take notice.
We have also been fortunate to gain the support of so many members of the conservation community. Early on, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland backed the project and offered seed funding to get us up and running, and shortly thereafter, The International League of Conservation Photographers honored us by becoming Endorsing Partners. Most Recently Mark Lukes from Fine Print Imaging and Linda Helm at Art for Conservation have thrown their support behind the project, which has made a tremendous difference in regards to applicant interest, and visibility around the world.

So what now? Well, in the coming days we will be working with applicants to secure the support of their NGOs of choice. We will also be introducing applicants who have already gained support on our website, on our upcoming MYN blog, and on our rapidly growing Facebook group.

Exciting things are on the horizon for Meet Your Neighbours! Already, photographers are beginning to develop new techniques for creating the field studio images, including novel approaches to showing both the subject and environment in one image. Others are developing long range plans for sharing the images with their communities. By working together, we hope that common, overlooked species of wild plants and animals will be seen in a different light!

For photographers out there who are still interested in Meet Your Neighbours, and are able to make an arrangement with a partner NGO there still may be a place for you in the project. Please visit our website to download the MYN photographer's guide and begin building a relationship with your local conservation community. Although the April 30th deadline has been reached, we still may be able to help support you in other ways!

Finally, if you represent a NGO, business or are a person in a position to introduce Meet Your Neighbours into your own community, please contact me at clay@meetyourneighbours.org and will help to connect you with an appropriate photographer partner.

Meet Your Neighbours: Project Update

It has been a few weeks since Meet Your Neighbours was launched.We have received inquiries and interest from photographers and NGOs from around the world; the list includes places as diverse as Uganda, Brazil, Italy, the Ukraine, New England, Wales among others. Needless to say, I have been very encouraged by the response so far! If you believe that you would be a good candidate for this effort, please don't hesitate to send your information to clay@meetyourneighbours.org !

I also wanted to publicly thank several organizations and individuals who have stepped forward to offer support and spread the word about MYN. Sincere appreciation to all of you who have done so! And to those who are working with us behind the scenes, many thanks to you as well.

Here are a few highlights:

• Endorsing Partner The International League of Conservation Photographers featured the project in their February newsletter and on Facebook
• Rob Sheppard wrote a nice piece on the effort for his blog photodigitary
• Charlie Borland has kindly promoted MYN on Pro Nature Photographer
• Richard Bernabe allowed us to share the word on NaturePhotographers.net
• Miki Johnson spread the word on their Livebooks Community on Facebook
  
• Thanks to The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina for highlighting it on Facebook
• Ibarionex Perello highlighted MYN on Twitter
• Sublime Magazine will be featuring a really nice spread on MYN in their upcoming April issue
  

In the next few days, we will be posting more detailed information on how the project works and ways that applicants can partner with NGOs. In addition, Niall and I will also be sharing a "Photographer's Guide to Meet Your Neighbours" as a resource for candidates.

Once again, for those who are interested in applying, please contact me via the blog, or by e-mail at clay@meetyourneighbours.org.

Introducing "Meet Your Neighbours"

It is my great pleasure to announce the launch of a new project that I've developed in coordination with conservation photographer and ILCP Founding Fellow, Niall Benvie. It's called “Meet Your Neighbours” and its mission is to celebrate the species of plants and animals that we think we know best: those commonly found within our own neighborhoods and communities. These species are often people's first and only connection with the natural world and their importance is often unrecognized. In essence, Meet Your Neighbours is a photographically driven, environmental education program designed to nurture those connections.

There is just one catch: We need your help!

Niall and I are searching for photographers around the world to participate in this effort. We want people to sit up and take notice of these wild neighbors by presenting them as celebrities: photographed in the white field studio, in exquisite detail under beautiful lighting. If you are a photographer who has spent time working with conservation NGOs within your own region to highlight locally wild species we want to hear from you! Whether you are a seasoned pro, or an experienced recreational photographer, it matters not. What does matter is your dedication to showcase these often overlooked, and undervalued species within your own communities.

To learn more about the Meet Your Neighbours project and how you can participate, Please Read More Here.

To Sign-up for our mailing list, visit our developing website at meetyourneighbours.org or follow us on Twitter: @MYNeighbours.