With his camera lens focused on nature and conservation issues, photographer Daniel Beltrá will share his vision and experiences with San Juan College and the community, Wednesday, December 2, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in room 7103, located in the Information Technology Center (Copper Top building).

Beltrá’s presentation is all a part of the Annabelle Friddle Distinguished Teaching Chair Award received by Kathleen Chambers, assistant professor of Photography. The award is funding her project titled Photography as Advocacy.

“Photography is powerful,” Chambers explains. “It has the ability to present a message, increase awareness and ultimately unite people on a variety of fronts – politically, socially and culturally. And that’s the intent of this project – to bring in photographers who are utilizing their work to make a difference in the world.”

Before becoming a photographer, Daniel Beltrá studied forestry engineering at Madrid University in Spain and then transferred to study biology for four years. His passion for photography combined both these interests in a career spanning nearly 20 years. Beltrá’s work includes regular assignments for Greenpeace where he has documented the Brazilian Amazon, the Arctic, the Southern Oceans, and the Patagonian Ice Fields, among others. He has earned two World Press Photos awards, China International Press Photo contests, as well as the inaugural Global Vision Award.

This year, he was awarded the Prince of Wales Rainforest Project. Granted by Prince Charles, the award allowed Beltrá to travel to the Congo, Amazon and Indonesian rainforests for three months to create photos about the fate of the world’s rainforests.

The public is invited to attend Beltrá’s presentation, and the event is free.
For further information, contact Kathleen Chambers at 566-3502 or chambersk@sanjuancollege.edu.