World Photography Day through the lens of Greenpeace

by Sudhanshu Malhotra

I grew up in photography reading Robert Capa’s words: “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough”.
It’s a simple statement but really profound. Photographers have understood this statement in their own unique way, similar to what photography as a medium is. It can be personal to the photographer and public at the same time. It is open to conversations and interpretations but true and honest to the photographer and situation.
In the 19th century, photography was born for bearing witness. It was used to capture landscapes, document society in form of portraits – a true archive. Photography was the first medium of bearing witness known to our times.
As time passed on, in the last 200 years, we have seen and accepted the power of a good photograph. We have seen images been accepted as evidence in courts and also inspiring governments and people to stand up and take action. Images have left us all speechless, frustrated and motivated at the same time.
Photography is the best ally to an environmental movement, a medium to speak volumes to cross-cultural audiences in a language that everyone understands.
This is a small selection of iconic images from Greenpeace that have inspired and motivated hundreds and thousands across the world.

Logger in Cameroon (1999). © Steve Morgan / Greenpeace

Deforestation in Papua (2018). © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace

Big river boat trapped on a sand bank East of Barreirinha, during one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the Amazon. © Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace

Whale secured alongside the Yushin Maru No.2 catcher ship from the Japanese whaling fleet. (2006). © Greenpeace / Kate Davison

Chlorine Action Atochem Blockade – France (1993). © Greenpeace / Michael Jackson

Oiled Brown Pelicans in Louisiana (2010). © Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace

Rescue workers and local volunteers attempt to clean up the oil spill at Ao Phrao beach in Ko Samet, Rayong Province, (2013). © Roengrit Kongmuang / Greenpeace

Underwater image of a turtle with plastic on his head. (2006) .© Troy Mayne / Oceanic Imagery Publications

Chernobyl in the Ukraine became the site of the most infamous nuclear disaster accident of all. In 1986 the explosion of the nuclear reactor affected the lives of millions in Western Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. (2005). © Robert Knoth / Greenpeace

A polar bear rests in the icy water in Svalbard. (2016) © Rasmus Törnqvist / Greenpeace

Protest at Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline in the US, 2016. © Richard Bluecloud Castaneda / Greenpeace

Villagers celebrate the Government’s decision to stop Mahan coal block from mining. (2015). © Sudhanshu Malhotra/Greenpeace

To be honest, this selection of images has been the easiest edit of my life. Most of these images are embedded in my brain but choosing 12 out of hundreds is the toughest decision.
We all have seen the horrible image of the turtle and the plastic in the ocean, the same way the blood on the dead whale moved thousands of people to mobilise and put pressure on governments to ban whaling. From oil-soaked pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico to destroyed forests in Indonesia, the inspiring images of protesters standing against armed police at Standing Rock and the infectious smile of joy and victory of a woman over a giant coal company. These images are just a preview of various struggles we face every day across the world in our efforts protect this environment.
Get involved and join the movement.
World Photography Day is Sunday August 19. Sudhanshu Malhotra is a Multimedia Editor for Greenpeace International, based in Hong Kong. You can follow him on his Instagram.