Faces of Chelonia

I found this website called "Faces of Chelonia" today and I am making it my must visit website of the week. It's about sea turtles which I love, so I decided to post a picture of a female loggerhead that Mom took on Wassaw Island in the summer of 2007. This lady is heading back to the ocean after laying her eggs. As you can see, Mom is not a photographer, but she tries.

Canadian freelance photographer Neil Ever Osborne is the face behind "Faces of Chelonia". Neil started this photographic project to raise awareness of sea turtle conservation via a visual perspective. His photographs are amazing because he captures the true essence of his subjects.

Neil is working to develop a new genre of photography called 'Conservation Photography'. This is what he has to say about the subject:

"'Conservation Photography' utilizes artistic visual mediums for the purpose of documenting issues and sharing stories about the natural world and its inhabitats for the sake of perserving entities at risk. The 'Conservation Photographer' uses their work to establish tangible conservation results."

Neil has such an interesting background. He did graduate training in biology and marine ecology prior to pursuing his photographic interests. He mentored under world renowned National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and now three years later, he is doing his own thing as a freelancer.

There is a map on the site where you can see where Neil has been, places he is planning to visit, and potential sites. Neil has even visited a place that Mom has been - Tortuguero. Tortuguero was Mom's second stop on her "turtle tour" of 2003-2004. She loved it there and had an amazing time working with the great people at the CCC.

Mom thinks that Neil should visit Wassaw because it is such a unique place where he could photograph loggerheads as well as the island itself. Nothing is quite like Wassaw, Mom always says. I have seen the photos and I agree, but then again I haven't been too many places.

You must check out "Faces of Chelonia" at http://www.facesofchelonia.com/. Add it to your favorites and visit it often to see new sea turtle photos and to learn about the efforts of sea turtle conservation around the globe. Some day you may even see a spot on the map for Wassaw Island.