How to See Through the Lens of Empathy, Compassion, and Conscience

by Jonathan Hahn – in SIERRA, the magazine of the Sierra Club

“Seeing It All” lifts up the work of 11 cutting-edge female photographers

It is a scene with so much color and delight in the foreground that you would be hard-pressed to see the darkness lurking in the background. In it, John Kamara, a keeper at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, holds a rainbow umbrella over one of his charges—an 18-month-old black rhino named Kalifi—who appears to be leaning in for a kiss. The young calf is one of three that Kamara raised by hand. He spends 12 hours a day with these animals in an effort to save their species from extinction, one at a time. In 1987, there were only 400 remaining in the world. Today, that number has nearly doubled thanks to individuals like Kamara.

The picture—taken by war photographer turned conservationist —Ami Vitale invites us to see more than just a story about endangered species with its potential for tragedy. We see a relationship—with its richness, presence, and play—in which the common bonds and connections between all living things come alive, salient, and worthy of our attention. FOR MORE

Ami Vitale. My photos are stories of heroes on the frontline to save what’s left of the Planet

Photo Credit: Ami Vitale