Visual Storytelling
As a photographer, videographer, designer, and fine artist, I have always thought of myself as a visual storyteller, but some stories are bigger than anything I could tell on my own. Climate change is an issue I care about deeply. I do my best to be a conscious consumer and make environmentally friendly swaps, but for some people, they might just hear about climate change and not really see it or notice its entire impact. That is why I feel it is important to the Earth’s story to the forefront of people’s attention. Additionally, “more than half our brains are dedicated to the processing of visual input, and so pure text and numbers simply cannot convey information in as memorable or digestible a form as that of successful visual-based storytelling.” For me, this has definitely been true, especially with the many aspects of climate change. Not only seeing it visually but experiencing it first hand.
This heartbreaking photo shows a turtle trapped in discarded fishing gear. Without help, this turtle would die. This is an image of an animal helplessly trapped in a discarded old net. You can tell it is an old unused net, by its frayed ends. Through this turtle you can see the repercussion of our trash in the waters and the thousand of other sea creatures going through the same collective suffering. They suffer unnoticed and alone with no one to save them from our nets and bags and plastics that we pollute the oceans with. “A successful visualization is the same as any successful story, regardless of medium, or even whether it is fiction or fact: it informs, it makes the reader think about the world around them, and about our own lives. It stirs- emotions, it enrages action, it equips us, it inspires us. It enriches our world in tiny ways that we may never understand.” Without these images to show us the stories of the sea, most of us would never see or know what is happening.
This image is a moment of deforestation captured as the fires rage uncontrollably. Plantation owners in Indonesia burn the forests down to have more land to grown palm oil. These fires rage for acres and burn far beyond anyone’s control. On the left side of the image are the oil palm plants on a plantation. On the right side, we see the forest in flames. We can easily assume this is the quote doing of the plantation owner to make more space to plant, as this is something that is done a lot. You can see the green turn to brown, you see the life of the forest dying in the smoke. Within these forests are animals and ecosystems and life being burned away. At the end of the day, it all is for nothing, as the local climate is stripped of its moisture and dries, stripping the soil of nutrients and essentially becoming nothing more than a wasteland. “Carrying a camera comes with responsibility; captured images have the power to influence opinions and emotions, and even to shape history. Whether carrying a camera that shoots still photos or video or both, shoot imagery with a purpose. Make sure to always have a reason to capture the content in front of your lens.” It is images like these that bring light to important issues and what we do with this information will change our future.
From floods to earthquakes, natural disasters impact so many places across the world. This image tells such a compelling story with a mix of emotions. Firefighters and other rescuers do the best they can when disasters like this occur. This image shows two firefighters in a boat rescuing a man and his dog on a roof. They have nothing else with them on the roof and probably won’t have faired well with a rescue. While you cannot see the man’s face, you definitely can assume he is relieved to see these rescuers. This image is a powerful moment especially for the viewer to see the people impacted by this natural disaster. Not only do people lose them home and valuables, but some people lose their lives as well. Especially with floodwaters as high as roof tops, this must have been a terrifying situation for the man. “Visual storytellers must look for moments with their cameras, whether they are shooting video or stills. Moments are crucial to arousing emotion and empathy in the viewer.” This was a very powerful moment to capture and the viewer definitely feels empathy for people in that situation.
In this image, we see the story of coral reefs. On the left side, we see a colorful and lively reef with a booming ecosystem of fish and sea life, while on the right side we see bleached and dying coral with almost no fish or life around it. This story shows how perfectly healthy and thriving coral can die in the current condition of our oceans leaving sea life with the home and ecosystems they need to survive and thrive. “The brain finds it easier to process information if it is presented as an image rather than as words or numbers.” It is one thing to say the coral reefs are dying but to see it brings emotions to a whole other level.
This sad image shows the story of our animals at the poles. The ice caps are melting at the poles and this poor polar bear is surrounded by more that than ice. The bear looks so skinny and sick and will probably not make it very long. The polar bears are starving, as the remaining ice does not sit over productive water for fishing. This shows the fate of the polar bears and other arctic animals if we keep moving at the rate we are going. “Virtually every culture in recognized history has employed visuals as a way of communicating ideas and better understanding the world around it.” It is important that we keep showing visuals like this so we all have a full understanding of our world and our impact.
I think this is such a great graphic and it tells so many different stories within itself. Although, what is so great about it is that it provides both a problem and a solution. It educated people on their carbon footprint but also supplies information on how to offset that: by planting more trees and reducing our waste. The graphics are very compelling and visually lead you through the piece, as well as being very relatable and something people can easily connect with. “Using powerful visuals that reflect why your work matters engage your audience on an emotional level. Visual storytelling raises awareness for your cause, builds trust with your audience, and inspires donors to help achieve your goals.” This graphic definitely achieves that goal and can spark an interest to know more about your personal carbon footprint. Especially for this topic, a graphic was really necessary to compare to a photograph. It is hard to see CO2 in the atmosphere so an image wouldn’t be as impactful or informational as a graphic.
This image drives home the point of how such a little difference in degree can cause such big differences on our planet. It shows the difference of .5 degrees on so many of the issues and things that already suffering due to these climate changes. It makes it very clear to the viewer how such a little change will have such a huge impact. “Every publication wants their stories to be visually attractive-indeed, the graphic design aspect of visual storytelling is much of the reason for its popularity. Yet the visuals have to serve the data as well as the audience.” These design visuals are very well done and connect all of these smaller stories to tell a bigger whole.
You can tell a story through so many different forms of visuals, being images, videos, graphics, and more. It is important to use this power to shed light on the things that matter and tell stories that truly mean something.
Sources:
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Logan, Ross. “End of the Great Barrier Reef? More than 90 per Cent of Earth’s Coral Reefs ‘Dead by 2050’.” Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk, 13 Mar. 2017, http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/778699/Great-Barrier-Reef-death-90-per-cent-Earth-s-coral-reefs-wiped-out-2050.
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