Workshop Participants
Neil Osborne
Conservation Photographer, Multimedia Storyteller, EVC Director
Neil Ever Osborne is an associate member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (www.ilcp.com) and a contributing editor and photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Magazine. Using conservation photography practices and multimedia storytelling, he blends his backgrounds in science (B.Sc.) and photojournalism (M.A.) to bridge gaps between groups whose conservation agendas are best met through collaboration.
Prior to becoming a professional photographer, Neil mentored under National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting for two years. More recently, he assisted National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen on assignment.
Neil regularly contributes photography and visual communication works to environmental non-profits and government agencies who use his imagery and strategy in campaigns. His latest collaborations have been with Environment Canada, Parks Canada, Canadian Wildlife Federation, ForestEthics, Conservation International, Save Our Wild Salmon, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Grupo Tortuguero, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service and the Council of Foreign Relations.
Neil continues to pursue alternative ways of publishing and exhibiting editorial content, and has collaborated with the Forward Thinking Museum, Ocean Revolution, Patagonia, Outside Magazine, Sierra Club, TreeHugger, National Geographic and the Rotunda of the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C., more recently to do so.
Neil is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he directs the Environmental Visual Communication program (www.eviscomm.ca) when not on field assignments.
Neil participated in the December 2012 MediaStorm Methodology Workshop. During the workshop he recorded the following quotes and reflected on them back in Toronto. They are shown below:
Brian Storm: “You’re either in the tribe, or not in the tribe.”
Neil Ever Osborne: “In just a week with Brian Storm and the creative talent surrounding him, you feel like you have become part of their team, and gained a decade’s worth of knowledge in doing so.”
Brian Storm: “Our mission is to share those relatable elements that bind us all together – the human condition.”
NEO: “I’ve always known about MediaStorm’s projects, now I know what makes them tick.”
From Danny Wilcox Frazier’s Driftless documentary work: “Starving to death on an empty stomach”
NEO: “You leave the MediaStorm Methodology Workshop knowing characters are part of every story, but you learn it is their voices that really matter.” – NEO
Brian Storm: “You don’t really understand something until you teach it.”
NEO: “I think this statement should replace the misconception that those that can’t do, teach. In sharing their wisdom, I think the MediaStorm crew really hone their craft.”
Eric Maierson: “Omission is the act of creation.”
NEO: “After this week, I will approach editing from a completely different perspective.”
Rick Gershon: “You switch into athlete mode, playing the game.”
NEO: “As a past athlete myself, I can relate to Rick’s professional approach. He’s so practiced with the gear, he can focus more on the moments in front of him, and you see evidence of this in his documentary filmmaking.”
Brian Storm: “Build the ecosystem and make non-perishable stories.”
NEO: “Every character, every storyline, every issue matters. As storytellers, it is our collective efforts that scale our impact over time.”
Eric Maierson: “Finding the good stuff, i.e. information curation.”
NEO: “Just when you think you have all the neat and snazzy applications on your desktop, you spend an hour with Eric Maierson and your virtual world explodes; e.g. Alfred.”
Joe Fuller describing one of his animation ideas: “Swoosh, bang, zip, squeal.....”
NEO: “Look up the word onomatopoeia and you’ll understand the amazing Joe Fuller even more. Only he can describe in words how his animations come to be”.
Rick Gershon: “Our greatest luxury is time”
NEO: “I learned I need to take more time with my stories.”