Water is Life
We are in relationship with the land. As an outdoor photographer, it is even more important to honor the land and those who protect our earth. Water is our caretaker. I am a water baby through and through. Each time I am in the water, I cannot help but feel a sense of awe in how my body is lifted and supported by water.
Image to the left is Laura as a little kiddo, with frizzy and perfect brown curls shaping an annoyed face. Laura is holding rocks and standing wearing a green, yellow, and blue swimsuits on a rocky beach.
My very favorite photo of me as a little kiddo is me on the beach looking utterly annoyed that my attention is being taken away from the water and rocky sand.
We are Water Protects, a book by Carole Lindstrom, shares about how water is alive and has its own spirit. Lindstrom also shares that “in Ojibwe culture, women are the protectors of water.” Water is medicine, it is where we came from, and it is up to us to take care of our earth, including the water we are so lucky to know.
Carole Lindstrom’s book, We are Water Protectors, has a blue and water-themed cover with a brown-skin Indigenous young person holding a feather and standing as the main character.
For Earth Day 2024, I hope we continue to work towards honoring our land and those who protect it. The official website for Earth Day has a list of action items that you can find here. For myself, I have committed to the following:
Picking up trash each photo session or when scouting locations
Researching how to incorporate guerilla farming with native wildflowers or plants
Paying local Indigenous groups for their work in protecting our water and land
Fighting alongside activists, such as Standing Rock or advocating for more fish passage here in King County
Shopping with small businesses as often as possible
If you have a recommendation for a group that I should consider donating to, sharing, or otherwise support, please let me know. Or if you have ideas for what else I could be doing as an outdoor photographer, I would love to hear from you. Please email me at hello@laurabrooks.art
Appreciate you. Let’s take care of our land together.
