Mississippi River Project Begins
New York, NY, Sept 22, 2023 J Henry Fair, acclaimed environmental photographer, is preparing to set off on a five-day aerial expedition down the Mississippi River with partner Lighthawk to shoot photo and video of the entire waterway, forming a baseline for future study.
The Mississippi River is one of the most important cultural and geographical landmarks in American history, from the early westward expansion to the Steamboat era and Twain’s Life on the Mississippi.
The river continues to be vital for the economy, food supply, transportation, and recreation of the millions of people who live along its path, and the millions more who survive on food farmed in the region.
However, the river is under grave threat from many angles, including channelization, fertilizer runoff, pollution from industry, climate change, deforestation, and reduced snowfall. The Mississippi dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico spreads these effects beyond the river, and causes great harm to biodiversity in the oceans.
Related News:
The Mississippi River's Saltwater Intrusion Problem (Washington Post)
Shuttered EPA investigation could’ve brought 'meaningful reform' in Cancer Alley, documents show (ABC)
The Mississippi River is starving for rain. Its prospects are grim (CNN)
Mississippi River water levels plummet for second year: See the impact it's had so far (USA Today)
The Frantic Race to Protect New Orleans’s Drinking Water (WSJ, $)
Preparation:
Pilot David Morrison and photographer Henry Fair spent many hours planning and customizing David’s Cessna 206 to be a unique platform for recording the totality of the Mississippi ecosystem. Special mounts were put on the wings so multiple cameras can be mounted, powered, and focused. Cameras will film forward, downward, and to the sides of the aircraft.
About J Henry Fair:
Photographer J Henry Fair is best known for his Industrial Scars series, in which he researches our world’s most egregious environmental disasters and creates images that are simultaneously stunning and horrifying, and more closely resemble abstract paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock than what the collective views as reality. Mr. Fair’s work has been featured in most major print and media venues (see page). Additionally, Mr. Fair’s work travels around the world in fine art exhibitions at major museums, galleries, and educational institutions.
About Lighthawk and David Morrison:
Lighthawk is an organization whose mission is to accelerate conservation success through the powerful perspective of flight by mobilizing a network of pilots to fly environmental missions. Their work includes ferrying endangered species for reintroduction and breeding, flying government officials so they can see environmental destruction first-hand, and taking photographers like Fair to places that the world would otherwise not see.
David Morrison is a master builder and a dedicated environmental pilot, who flies frequently with Lighthawk in support of their environmental and animal welfare missions.
