vancouver fashion and portrait photography

The world has watched with wide eyes as the Deepwater Horizon oil well has spilled millions of barrels of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico for the last 75 days. News reports of threatened wildlife, coastal destruction, media blackouts and the end of fisherfolk communities have plagued the news feeds of many concerned residents and citizens. Deciding this situation, with its saturation of misinformation, was a call to action, Dave Troy and Nate Mook decided it was  time to organize an event that would bring together the eyes, the ears and the minds of people involved. On June 28th, TEDx Oil Spill took place in Washington, DC.

"From the air I could see 3000-5000 feet of black smoke.. and what seemed like one fire was actually dozens of fires… recently heard a story of a captain who was rescuing sea turtles and realized that they were getting caught in the skimming nets that were being lit on fire.. the captain ended up checking up on the nets too much that BP let him go from his contract… the reality is that all kinds of wildlife are getting caught in the nets… and no one is getting them out before the burns."
Photographer Kris Krüg, audio interview with Arjun Singh

This past week the TEDx Oil Spill Expedition team spent time in the Southern states that line the Gulf of the Mexico documenting the disaster that is slowly unfolding in Gulf waters. Exactly two months ago the Deepwater Horizon oil well owned by British Petroleum sprung a terrible leak thousands of miles under the water's surface. The oil well has consistently leak millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf on a daily basis, with little to no stopping it . This catastrophe has effected so many areas of the Gulf Coast, not just touching upon the beaches and devastating the fisherfolk communities but also displacing hundreds of birds from their homes. Overall the amount of damage is infuriating.

The last few days have been a non-stop journey through the coastal area of New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana Marshlands for the TEDx Oil Spill Expedition team. The team of photographers, videographer and writer have been exploring the land and the sky in order to understand the story of the Oil Crisis here in the Gulf. A couple thousands photos and multiple blog posts later, the team is gathering media coverage from a witnessing POV for the June 28th TEDx Oil Spill event in Washington, DC. 

The recent Oil Spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has been on everyone's mind and media outlets for the past month. Between horrifying photos, misleading information and many failed attempts at stopping the gushing oil well, a growing national frustration has mounted into a direct collective responsibility that something has to be done.

Currently the entire world has their eyes and ears glued to the media that is coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, depicting the travesty and devastation around the BP Oil Spill.