Project conservation Create a community database for documentation and landscape conservation

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Geraci of District 7 Media about his efforts in preserving the beauty of our planet through his collaborative efforts with Sony, Dell, Nvidia and Kessler, called Project preservation.

With global warming becoming increasingly worrisome in recent years, Andrew and the Conservation Project aim to document and preserve rare landscapes for future generations.

Who is Andrew Geraci?

Andrew is an award-winning photographer and videographer who has worked in television, film and advertising for over 20 years. After nearly a decade of service in the United States Navy as a mass communications specialist, Geraci founded District 7 Communicationsspecializes in vibrant color and high-impact HDR motion-controlled time-lapse videos, high-speed and aerial content for film, TV and commercials.

Geraci rose to fame after getting a job working with David Fincher to shoot the now iconic House of Cards opening, and has gone on to work with other renowned directors including Steven Spielberg. , Jordan Peele, Alejandro Iñárritu, etc. His work has been featured in projects for NFL, HBO, Netflix, Red Bull, Sony, Apple, Disney, Showtime, Dell, Cartier and films like Nope and Westside Story.

Interview

Ask: What is Project Conservation?

ONE: As a photographer and videographer, I spend most of my time exploring the world, capturing beautiful scenes of mountains, rainforests, deserts, and sometimes icy tundra. All these places exist naturally and have existed for millions of years. It’s no secret that our climate is changing rapidly and it wasn’t until visiting Yellowstone Park in the winter of 2021 that I realized that things were accelerating at an alarming rate. Watching the landscape physically change from year to year due to climate change, such as erosion, wildfires, floods, and deforestation, helps me understand things better. While it is natural for the landscape to change over the centuries, we are now seeing massive changes in our environment in just a few years. The changes to the landscape have impacted me so much that I decided to start an initiative to help preserve the landscapes we have now in a way that future generations can at least enjoy. and learn from what is happening in our current state.

Project preservation is not a one-time, one-person project. It aims to bring together the world’s photographers and videographers to help create a large and extensive image database that we can share with future generations, both for image information and science. Using high-resolution photography, we began the process of capturing landscapes that are in danger of disappearing forever, mainly due to coastal erosion, wildfires and floods. This image is currently available on our website for everyone to see. Although the project itself is constantly evolving and it will be several years before we can truly see the impact and results, this first round of conservation has received strong support from the photography community. image.

Ask: Why do you use camera hardware and equipment to create images?

ONE: To capture the myriad landscapes the Earth has to offer, we’re using simple yet powerful tools to help tell the story and document what’s happening to our landscape. Much of our filming required the use of a high-resolution still camera, in this case, sony a1 And a7R DRAWcombined with a two-axis programmable motion control head, powered by kessler crane, to give us precise movement in 50k+ resolution panoramas. We also use a powerful workstation-class laptop in the field, powered by Dell and NVIDIA to process all images and data directly on the site. This allows us to ensure that the image we are creating, especially during the compositing process, appears as it should without any errors. Once we have collected all of our photos, we will aggregate all the images into one large database, namely a near 1.8 PB server that will allow us to expand in future as the project grows and we have more photographers who are willing to help support our cause.

Ask: What is the biggest challenge of the project?

ONE: Our biggest challenges right now include a few things. Firstly, we need as many contributing photographers as possible, so that we can cover the globe and capture/document all the beautiful places we love and enjoy. This task is not possible for our small team, so it will be up to the contributors who are giving their time and skills to help us document these specific places. Next is time. As early as 2023, we have seen a dramatic increase in natural disasters and the situation will only get worse as climate change increases, so we are in a race. with time to capture these locations before they are changed or worse, gone forever. With the help of the photography community, I believe we can preserve the landscapes we have and allow people from all over the world to enjoy those landscapes in high-resolution photography. extremes, cinematography and time lapse.

Ask: How can people participate?

ONE: The easiest way for other photographers to get involved is to become a contributor. Our website is in the early stages of taking on a larger volume of people and content, and by the end of 2023, we expect it to function as a well-oiled machine for people from all over the world. The world can contribute to this effort and see their work seen by the masses. you can apply This.

The more people and more awareness we have about the ever-changing climate problems we face, the better our future will be and hopefully that will have a positive impact on the whole. climate crisis.

Do our part to preserve our planet

There has never been a more important time to pay attention to the signals our planet is giving us. Rising temperatures, greater natural disasters, and resource depletion are all major concerns that we should all pay attention to.

By contributing to the preservation of our planet, we can all ensure that future generations not only enjoy the stunning landscapes we have but are inspired to continue. the torch takes care of our planet.

What do you think about being more mindful of how our decisions impact the future? Share your feedback in the comments below!

Image used with permission of Andrew Geraci.