I am grateful to The New York Times photoblog The Lens for publishing the photo story from Prey Lang, Cambodia about the illegal deforestation and slain activist Chut Wutty.
SIGN THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION TO STOP THE ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION OF PREY LANG
The forests of Cambodia, which the World Bank previously called it’s “most developmentally important natural resource”, are being destroyed at an alarming rate to the financial benefit of the ruling elite. Global Witness calls Cambodia a ‘country for sale’, and according to a recent USAID report, without urgent action, Prey Lang, the largest evergreen lowland forest in Southeast Asia and home to an estimated 200,000 indigenous people, will be completely destroyed in 2-3 years.
Wanting to understand the effect that deforestation was having on the environment and indigenous communities, I traveled through Prey Lang for 6 days in February on motorcycle, staying in the forest homes of members of the Prey Lang Network, a grassroots association of villagers risking their lives to try and slow the destruction of their forest.
The danger to these activists became all too real on April 26th, 2012, when one of our guides, Chut Wutty, a leading activist for the protection of Prey Lang, was shot dead by Cambodian Military Police as he was working with journalists to expose illegal logging activities in another threatened region of Cambodia. After publishing three conflicting accounts of his death, the government has closed their investigation into his death. Responding to international pressures and attention, the Prime Minister of Cambodia has suspended the land concessions that Wutty was fighting against, but activists believe this is only a political maneuver, one that will be quickly reversed as soon as international eyes have turned away.
Click through to see more photos and to get involved.
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I was recently at the Laker’s training facility on an assignment for Sports Illustrated, and a media frenzy broke out around Kobe. It’s pretty tough to get compelling shots when you’re jockeying with dozens of other cameras and mics, sometimes it’s good to take a step back.
5/9/12 update: it was just Chosen in the American Photography 28 photo competition.
A slideshow of my photos were published on the Huffington Post as part of their coverage on the “Occupy” blockade of the Long Beach port on December 12th, 2011
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I spent several days in Zuccotti Park, New York City, during October 2011. Click through to view more images and read about the experience.
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I recently took photos of my neighbor Cynthia and her family, and her mom Fanny asked if I would photograph the members of her church for a fundraiser. So last week my assistant and I loaded up the van and drove down to the church, on 108th and Compton Blvd in South Los Angeles. It was a great day. Click below to view some of the photos.
Friends watching an illegal fireworks display south of Culver City
I set a goal to have a billboard up in Los Angeles by the end of the year, and here in June I’ve got my first.