Search for the Afghan Girl. A film.

I saw this film in July 2003 at the Kodak Gallery in Rochester, NY, while exploring a temporary exhibit of photographs taken by my favorite photographer, Steve McCurry. I've thought about the film often, since then.

The film is about Steve's search for a woman whose photograph he had taken 17 years prior, when she was approximately 12 years old. Steve's photograph of the young girl, one of the most famous photographs ever taken, appeared on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985.

The Afghan Girl, approximately age 12:



The film, Search for the Afghan Girl:

Watch more free documentaries

The Afghan Girl, as she was when Steve finally found her again, 17 years later:

Take a Look. How much Plastic is inside YOUR kitchen trash can?

80% of the plastic in the ocean comes from LAND BASED sources - your kitchen trash can, etc.

To put this video into context, check out this prior post.

Chris Jordan - update from the Midway Atoll

Brace yourself for this short video of the horrifying contents of the stomach of a dead baby albatross on Midway Atoll. The island will soon be covered with tens of thousands of carcasses like this, as the plastic-filled birds die from starvation, dehydration, and choking.



Video by: Jan Vozenilek

Well-Known Photographer Chris Jordan Explores Plastics in the Ocean

Photographer Chris Jordan and friends recently traveled to the US territory the Midway Atoll (also known as the Midway Islands) in order to document the effects of marine debris on the Laysan Albatross.

The Laysan Albatross is one of 21 albatross species. The IUCN has identified 19 of these 21 species as threatened or endangered. The large seabirds make their home on remote oceanic islands; the Laysan Albatross calls the Midway Atoll home.

The Midway Atoll is a 2.4 mile large stretch of coral and sand, located near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo.


photo: The white dot in the center indicates the location of the Midway Atoll.

The Midway Atoll, located in the Pacific Ocean, is not far from the site of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.


photo: prepared by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has received a lot of media coverage in the last year, and was even featured on Oprah. (Watch her segment on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch here.)

While some say that the mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, NOAA has reported that the size of the mass is unknown. Additionally, the highly-regarded Captain Charles Moore has reported that there are floating garbage patches in NINE of the planet's ocean gyres - the Great Pacific Garbage patch is not the only one.

The world's plastic waste (which when found in the ocean is referred to as "marine debris") is having disastrous effects on the Laysan Albatross. Since the Laysan Albatross is a scavenger that feeds both on land and at sea (by surface seizing and diving) they mistakenly pick up bits of marine debris that resemble squid, fish, and krill, and bring these items back to their nests on the Midway Atoll to feed to their chicks.



The plastics that the parents feed to their young obstruct the chicks' digestive systems, making the birds feel full yet providing no nutrition, thereby causing the birds to starve to death. (This happens to the adult birds too; not just their chicks.)

Chris Jordan took these photos to show the world what is happening to the Laysan Albatross.

To document what is happening to the albatrosses as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continent.





To view the rest of Chris' photos and to read the group's blog, go here. To view the photos in a fullscreen slideshow format, go here.

For more information about Chris Jordan and his other work, check out my previous blog post on Chris.

For more information about marine debris and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch check out Captain Charles Moore's organization the Algalita Marine Research Foundation's free resources for educators here.

This brief summary about marine debris is fantastic - everyone should read it.



photo: This was not done by Chris Jordan, but it's a good resource - the photo depicts the stomach contents of ONE Laysan Albatross chick that starved to death as a result of marine debris.

Chris Jordan -- photography with a message

OK ... I'm on a roll.

I am a BIG FAN of Chris Jordan's work, as well. In his former life, he was an attorney. Now, he takes photos, and manipulates the images on his computer, in order to convey social and environmental messages.

The image above depicts 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags, the number used in the US every hour.

I saw a Chris Jordan interview, where he talks about how he got started in this. He had one of his photos hanging in his apartment - a photo of a colorful landfill. He liked it for the colors. But his guests would often comment on the environmental message conveyed by the photo. It got Chris thinking ... and now here he is, creating some very popular pieces! If you check out his speaking schedule, it seems that he never stops traveling and speaking:)

I got to see his exhibit "Running the Numbers" at a small museum in MD, in 2008. Very exciting! If you aren't familiar with his work, then definitely watch this short video. His art is great, as it is, but the creative messaging behind it is also absolutely inspiring.