An ecological disaster, which the media is silent about, in the unique photographs of the "Spill" project

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Most of us still remember the catastrophe of a planetary scale that happened in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The big media, funded by corporations and politicians, prefer to keep silent about its consequences. However, the photographer Daniel Beltra, who witnessed the disaster, does not agree with this position. He hopes that a series of terrifying photographs called "Spill" will not let the trouble looming over humanity be forgotten.

More than two years ago, as a result of a 36-hour fire, an oil platform Deepwater Horizon sank in Gulf of Mexico … The accident led to damage to an oil well, as a result of which up to 1000 tons of oil a day was poured into the ocean. The leak was reduced significantly only after five months.

Now there is no oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, but no one knows what is happening on the seabed. Members of the organization Greenpeace asked the owners of the well many important, on a planetary scale, questions. Where did 75 percent of the oil from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico go? Is it true that the underwater oil cloud reached the Atlantic Ocean? How did the disaster affect the Gulf Stream? These and many other questions remained without an official answer. Press releases of BP (British oil and gas company), responsible for the disaster, do not answer such questions, leaving them to the public. Therefore, as they say, "the earth is full of rumors." Moreover, many are already going to extremes, claiming that the Gulf Stream has already stopped, but the media do not talk about this, because journalists who are interested in this topic are “removed”. Of course, all this is just gossip. Although, such an information vacuum makes you wonder: is it likely that BP has something to hide?

This is the question that the American photographer Daniel Beltra asked himself and decided that he must remind himself of what happened as long as he can. The main "trump card" of the photographer was his pictures from the series "Spill"dedicated to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Daniel Beltra - a photographer who will not chase after an interesting shot for the sake of profit. He is more concerned about the fate of rainforests, glaciers and marine life. He spent most of his career aboard Greenpeace ships, practicing the art of photography. But, ironically, it is this "green" organization that is facing the most dire consequences of rash human behavior. The Spill series includes images of the ocean surface taken by a photographer from a helicopter, as well as photos of animals affected by oil. Having selected the brightest pictures, Daniel sent them to all possible contests. His work has won numerous awards. The photographer considers his main achievement to be a victory at Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year … Winning first place in this competition is as prestigious as winning a Pulitzer Prize. None of the Greenpeace photographers have received it before, as the jury preferred artistic photography. The photograph that brought Daniel victory shows brown pelicans. Greenpeace employees found them on the brink of death in a slick of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of this photo, the pelicans were in a Louisiana rescue facility. The health of these birds is in a terrible state, and the oil from the feathers will be washed away for a long time. It is not known whether they survived or not, but other inhabitants of the ocean were even less fortunate: hundreds of underwater inhabitants were trapped in oil traps, where they died.

Daniel Beltra and his works from the series "Spill" became the pride of Greenpeace. This popularity helped the photographer achieve his goal. Although, every year, it is more difficult to remind of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. However, his work, which won the Veolia Wildlife Photographer competition, is featured prominently in the exhibition of the same name that travels around the world.

Daniel hopes that photography is the force that can change the attitude towards nature, and most importantly, make people understand that by our actions, we can really destroy our planet. It's not in vain, no one gives answers to most of the questions about the consequences of an oil leak.