At the EU Parliament

Wednesday marked another high point for the Tarnished Earth exhibition. It was officially inaugurated by its sponsors, the Co-Operative, in conjunction with project partners Greenpeace, WWF, Transport & Environment and Friends of the Earth. Seeing the larger-than-life panels displayed prominently across the plaza in front of the EU parliament's main entrance is humbling: who would have thought that what started as a media tour to Alberta in 2007 would end up being seen by Europe's decision makers four years later?

Needless to say I am chuffed. Moreover, the MEPs present applauded the initiative and took their time viewing these rather negative images of the tarsands industry in northern Canada. Now we hope that this exhibition will result in successfully influencing opinion of EU lawmakers to keep the tarsands out of European fuel imports.

Yet another exhibition update

Yes folks, another one. This time, Tarnished Earth is moving to Brussels. It will be on display outside the European Parliament from 9th March to 1st April and we're planning a media event there on the 16th. Come and join us there!

Location map:

View Larger Map

Exhibition updates

There are three announcements in this post with new exhibition dates:

Tarnished Earth will opening in:

Belfast, Belfast City Hall, Donegall Square, on 15th February at 12:00 and will be on display until 8th March 2011. View location map

and

Manchester, Spinningfields, on 5th April at 12:00 and will be on display until 26th April 2011. View location map

Also, the Japan-based IEPA (International Environment Photographers Association) is organising a group show themed "Photo exhibition of the world environment - Photographers who love the earth" which will open in Niigata, Japan on 23rd March and run until 7th April 2011. My images from Canada's  Tarsands will be on display in this joint exhibition along with work from fellow members of the IEPA. View location map.

Over Bern's Rooftops

It's nice to start the first blog post of the year on a high, quite literally: whilst visiting Switzerland's capital Bern, we climbed on top of the tower of the Münster of Bern, the highest accessible vantage point in town. At 100 metres, it is the tallest Swiss cathedral and offers breathtaking views of the city's rooftops and mountainous surroundings. It's nice to feel like a tourist once in a while, and I just could not resist the temptation of clicking away on my trusty G10.

Birds

Having wandered down to the quayside of the small north German town of Eckernfoerde, our aim was to feed dried bread to a bunch of hungry seagulls. They were sitting on ice in Eckernfoerde's small port, awaiting charitable donations from passers-by or the odd fishing boat coming in.

Once we opened our bag, I understood how Hitchcock made his scare-movie 'The Birds'. The gulls got very excited and started circling us, picking bread from our extended hands. An outright brawl erupted on the ground in front when we dropped some pieces. From then on, it was easy taking pictures: place camera on icy floor, aim, push button and hope for the best. The G10's shutter lag made precise timing impossible, as the cloud of squabbling and fighting gulls resembled a cartoon whirlwind. Although this won't win any prizes for authentic wildlife documentation or revolutionary art photography, I nevertheless enjoyed it tremendously.