James Balog

Last updated
James Balog
James Balog Iceland.png
Born (1952-07-15) July 15, 1952 (age 72)
Danville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater University of Colorado
Occupation Photographer
Website earthvisioninstitute.org

James Balog (born July 15, 1952) is an American photographer and the founder and director of Earth Vision Institute in Boulder, Colorado. In 2017, Balog founded the Extreme Ice Survey, a project that documents glacial melting.

Contents

Balog has photographed subjects such as endangered animals, North America's old-growth forests, and polar ice. In 1996, Balog was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to create a complete set of stamps. [1] In 2024, Balog received an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Photographic Society. [2]

He is a senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. [3]

Early life and education

Balog was born in Danville, Pennsylvania. He has participated in climbing expeditions in the Alps and Himalayas, and completed first ascents in Alaska. [4]

While working on a master's degree in geomorphology at the University of Colorado, he developed his photography skills during frequent climbing trips. These trips inspired him to abandon his scientific studies to pursue nature photojournalism. [5] He began with a series of documentary photography assignments for magazines such as Mariah (the predecessor to Outside ), Smithsonian, and National Geographic . [1] Later, he moved into self-directed projects, many of which would ultimately lead to large-format photography books.

Extreme Ice Survey

In 2007, Balog initiated the Extreme Ice Survey, the most wide-ranging ground-based photographic glacier study ever conducted. National Geographic magazine showcased Balog's ice work in June 2007 [6] and June 2010, [7] and the project is featured in the 2009 NOVA documentary Extreme Ice as well as the 75-minute film Chasing Ice (which premiered in January 2012). [8]

Documentary films

Balog's efforts to publicize the effects of climate change were the subject of the 2012 documentary film Chasing Ice , directed by Jeff Orlowski. [9] The documentary includes scenes from a glacier calving event that took place at Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland, which lasted 75 minutes, the longest such event ever captured on film. [10] [11] Two EIS videographers waited several weeks in a small tent overlooking the glacier and witnessed 7.4 cubic kilometres (1.8 cu mi) of ice crashing off the glacier. [12] The film received the 2014 News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Programming. [13]

Balog's feature-length documentary The Human Element, exploring the effects of humans on the environment, premiered at San Francisco Green Film Festival in 2018. [14]

Bibliography

See also

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 James Balog, National Geographic
    2. ↑ Fidler, Matt. "Royal Photographic Society awards 2024 – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
    3. ↑ "ILCP search". International League of Conservation Photographers. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
    4. ↑ "James Balog". Haiki Summit. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
    5. ↑ Cook, Terri. "Down To Earth With: James Balog". Earth Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
    6. ↑ Appenzeller, Tim (June 2007). "The Big Thaw". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008.
    7. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (June 2010). "Melt Zone". National Geographic. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010.
    8. ↑ Kennedy, Lisa (January 24, 2012). "Sundance: Colorado Represents". Denver Post.
    9. ↑ Collins, Mark (January 10, 2013). "'Chasing Ice,' documentary with Boulder ties, fails in bid for Oscar nomination". Denver Post . Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
    10. ↑ Carrington, Damian (12 December 2012), "Chasing Ice movie reveals largest iceberg break-up ever filmed", The Guardian, UK, retrieved 24 January 2014
    11. ↑ "Media reviews", Chasing Ice, 2012, archived from the original on 9 February 2014, retrieved 24 January 2014
    12. ↑ Dudek, Duane (2012), "Chasing ice pursues chilling evidence of climate change", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , retrieved 24 January 2014
    13. ↑ "Winners Announced for the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards - The Emmy Awards - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences". emmyonline.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
    14. ↑ "SFGFF co-presents: The Human Element". San Francisco Green Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.