Next week, I will be co-facilitating a retreat at Block Island, Rhode Island on “how science meets art.” Photographers, writers, and artists, will come together to observe the environmental work being done on this island through BRI – Biodiversity Research Institute. Here, they track songbirds and raptors who stop here on their annual migration and make sure they have the habitat they need.

The question for the week will be how will we tell the story of our own unique response to the research through our photography, art, or writing?

I’ve been exploring how environmental research and issues are being effectively communicated through photography, video, writing/storytelling, as well as other forms of art. While this is a topic that is not new, the methods are constantly and rapidly changing. For photography in particular, I’ve discovered many ways to share visual stories online. And, I hope to create my personal visual story of the Block Island retreat after I return.

Learn about visual storytelling.

* Tell Stronger Stories by David duChemin
* Creating a Photo Essay, from Collective Lens

Examples of Good Visual Storytelling

* Chris Jordan, Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption
* Camille Seaman tells a haunting story of climate change through her book, Melting Away.

Tell your own stories.

With these sites, you can join and create your own stories using templates.

* My Album. Curate your own photo album and stories and share with others.
* Medium is an article sharing site, with a special section just for photography articles, called Vantage.

Visual Storytelling Apps

* Steller for iPhone (see example from Sherry Galey)
* Storehouse for iPad (private sharing with family and friends).
* Jeremy Cowart documented the Pope’s visit and edited his photographs through the VSCO app.

How do you tell and share your visual stories? 

Learn more about my workshop, Once Upon a Time: Photographs have Stories to Tell