RISC Benefit Photo Auction – 1 day left to bid!

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Aperture Gallery – 547 West 27th Street, #4, New York December 3, 2014 – 6:30 PM

One day left to get your bids in!

Jason was very fortunate to be chosen to take part in the inaugural RISC (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues) training course in New York, in 2012, and therefore honored to have one of his ‘Makasutu‘ portraits in the upcoming  RISC Benefit & Silent Auction – which features the work of 46 photographers, a short program by RISC founder Sebastian Junger and Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas. Proceeds from ticket and auction sales will help RISC train and equip more freelance conflict journalists in emergency medical response. Bidding opens today – November 19  – online and ends at the benefit.

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‘Abdou with Rescued Crocodile’ © Jason Florio
‘As a response to the increasing dangers they face worldwide, RISC trains journalists to treat life-threatening injuries in the field. The RISC Benefit and Silent Auction… . Proceeds from the auction and event will help RISC train and equip more conflict journalists in emergency medical response.’ RISC Auction
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Some of the prints available to bid for at the RISC Auction – courtesy of Paddle8 auctions
Other contributing photographers, to the auction, include: Richard Mosse, Tim Hetherington, Mike Kamber, Brendan Hoffman, Manjari Sharma, Seamus Murphy, Erica Larsen, Roger Ballen…
and more.
There is a real need for the kind of training that RISC gives to photojournalists – for free – who work in some of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world.  Please help support their cause – either by bidding or sharing about the auction.
 We wish all success, for the final day of the auction tomorrow, to Sebastian Junger and all those involved in  RISC Training.
Many thanks
The Florios – Helen & Jason
Related posts: James Foley – 1973-2014 

The hunter turned conservationist – protecting sea turtles in The Gambia, West Africa

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Image © Jason Florio – Kartong, The Republic of the Gambia, West Africa

 

Over the weekend, we made our way down to Kartong – the last village before the border of the Casamance – Southern Senegal, to stay with old friends, Maurice and Geri, at their eco lodge, Sandele. The main purpose of our visit was to interview LJ – an ex- local bush meat hunter, who had a ‘come to conservation‘ moment earlier this year.

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Image © Jason Florio – some of the sea turtles we eventually released into the Atlantic Ocean, at Kartong, The Gambia, West Africa

 

LJ now volunteers full time to protect the fragile turtle population and helps to sensitize his fellow villages not to slaughter turtles for meat and poach their eggs. It’s a tough task, considering that there is precious food money to be made from the meat of the majestic fully grown reptiles – they can live to be 80+ years! LJ knows… being one of those people who thought little of wiping out mature turtles with a sharp knife, or raiding nests for eggs to sell or make omelets from, for his family.

 

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HJF with one of the turtles we helped to release – image © Jason Florio
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Watch your step, Jason! Releasing the turtles (look closely – those tiny black spots are alive), Kartong, The Gambia © Helen Jones-Florio

 

We had the honor of releasing 20 Leather Back turtles… an incredible experience, as we watched the tiny reptiles hurtle innately, over the sand, towards the gargantuan Atlantic Ocean. We were awestruck yet fearful… these are ‘lucky’ ones, to have survived the land predators (from hunters, to wild dogs, crabs, birds, and red ants, raiding the pre-hatched eggs), but the baby turtles have many more marine predators awaiting them. Their overall survival rate to maturity is slim.

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Image © Jason Florio – Kartong, The Republic of the Gambia, West Africa

 

LJ stood nearby, with a look of paternal proudness and more than a little trepidation. However, he hopes that in fifteen years time, he will be on the same stretch of beach to protect at least one of the female turtles, from this particular hatching, as she returns inherently to the place of her birth, to lay her eggs deep the sand, before heading right back out to sea once again.

We’ll be following closely the progress of LJ – a truly inspiring and dedicated man you will ever hope to meet – and the turtle conservation project, in Kartong, and surrounding coastal area. So, please do check in again (or you can subscribe to updates – simply add your email address in the left hand column).  And, if you would like to find out more about how to support the conservation of the turtles – this is a volunteer position for LJ, so we know that any help would be much appreciated –  please contact: enquiries@sandele.com 

The Florios – Helen & Jason

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Good luck, little turtle, we hope you make it! © Jason Florio

Crowdfunding – a very personalized way to say ‘thank you’ to your sponsors and donors

Early in January 2013, we completed our ‘River Gambia Expedition – 1044km source-sea Africa odyssey‘, after covering three West African countries, from the source of the river in the Fouta Djallon Highlands of Guinea, on into Senegal, finally reaching our  journeys end where the River Gambia flows into the Atlantic Ocean in The Republic of The Gambia.

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My sister, Joanne, just posted the photo we took of her personalized ‘thank you‘ from Jason and I, which we sent out post-expedition. She was amongst many sponsors and donors who supported our expedition. Our tried and tested method of crowdfunding (we used the same method for ‘A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush‘ in 2009), of ‘an exchange‘: offering fine art prints from a series of images  – which would be taken by Jason whilst we were on the journey – enabled us to make the expedition happen. I was just looking back through those thank you’s and wanted to share just a few of them – especially to those of you out there who may be in the midst of your own crowdfunding  and trying to think of ways to thank those who donate. Our supporters really responded to our very personal way of saying thank you to each and every one of them. And, it was fun for us, trying to find unique situations – and locations – in which to shoot the thank you photos.

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You can see the whole series of ‘thank you’ images on the River Gambia blog here. And to view the body of work that Jason Florio produced, from the journey, you can see them at floriophoto.com

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Lone fisherman, Kemoto Point, The Gambia, West Africa © Jason Florio

 

Happy weekend! The Florios – Helen & Jason

H & Flo - we did it!

Gambia is Good (GIG)! locally grown vegetables…and fresh coffee (incoming!)

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Floriotravels – on Instagram

 

We stopped by the Gambia is Good grocery store and café yesterday, to admire their new signage, and to say ‘esama‘ (good morning)  to the staff.  On entering the store, we were very pleasantly surprised to see one of Florio’s  images from an assignment we worked on for NGO, Concern Universal, here in The Gambia, just before we left on our River Gambia Expedition.

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Image © Jason Florio – for Concern Universal – GIG store, Kairaba Ave, Kanifing, The Gambia

 

Amongst the shoot locations, on the assignment, was the G.I.G. store, which was then situated in the previous CU compound, in Fajara.

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G.I.G. delivery truck– The Gambia, West Africa. Image © Helen Jones-Florio
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Image © Jason Florio – WASDA Garden,  Basse, The Gambia, for Concern Universal
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Jason Florio – shooting for Concern Universal, The Gambia, West Africa © Helen Jones-Florio

 

Penda, who manages the GIG store, assured us that they will be brewing fresh coffee in the café, very soon… we’ll be first in line!

More photo news coming soon.

The Florios – Helen and Jason

Related posts:

“Hello, my name is Alieu” – the Tippy Tap in in The Gambia