Documenting conservationists in Colombia. Plus, the problem with dog portraiture; visit gauchos in Argentina; ice bathe in the Alps; a photo’s $5 million asking price; and get Miles Davis’s wisdom on change
|  | Saturday, February 19, 2022 | | | | |
| In today’s newsletter, documenting conservationists in Colombia. Plus, Miles Davis on change; gauchos in Argentina and an ice bather in the Alps; the promise of photographing dark skin right; the problem with dog portraiture and … is a photograph worth $5 million? | |
 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY FLORENCE GOUPIL
| | By David Beard, Executive Editor, Newsletters
Peace can be deadly, too.
For residents of a stretch of misty, verdant hills in Colombia, home to an archaeological site of stunning pre-Columbian artifacts, a half-century of civil war kept tourists and scientists out—but it also gave caution to the loggers, gold miners, cattle ranchers, and drug traffickers who have come in since the war ended in 2016.
For a story in the March issue of National Geographic, photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Florence Goupil portrayed the beauty of the land and the bravery of some who have sought to preserve its valuable biodiversity from wholesale development. These defenders of the land have become targets for doing so—nearly 1,300 have been killed since 2016.
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| | The targets: Pictured at the top of this newsletter, an Indigenous Nasa leader, Fanor Mulcué, before an Espeletia plant native to the Andean plateau. For the article, writer Jordan Salama spent time in verdant, hilly southwestern Colombia (pictured above) with a famous anthropologist, who told of greater archaeological treasures to be explored in the area. A year later, the scholar was among the conservationists who was assassinated. | | | |
| | What’s at stake: Above, Ati Quigua performs a ritual to protect a river in the northern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. An Indigenous Arhuaco environmentalist and politician, she has protested mining and large-scale development that threaten natural resources in the Sierra Nevada, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. | | | |
| Targeting women: Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women often are the targets of traffickers, miners, and loggers. Among them was Nazaria Calambás Tunubalá, a former mayor who was gunned down at age 34 in October. Above, family mourn at her funeral in Cauca.
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| This is our land: Above, a member of the Guardia Indígena, a group defending the land, looks over the hills of Tierradentro, an archaeological park and UNESCO World Heritage site in Cauca. Beside him, a staff nailed atop a sacred rock marks Native authority over the land. Despite death threats, guardians feel a responsibility to protect the natural and cultural treasures of Colombia.
See the full story here.
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| | The thing about dogs: Longtime Nat Geo photographer Vince Musi, now big into dog portraits, doesn’t shy away from pointing out a recent occupational hazard. Those pets—well, they break wind. A lot. Without warning or apology. “The professional in me says, ‘Work through it. Just pretend like nothing happened and it will pass. Your eyes will stop watering … eventually.’” Then, Vince writes in an Instagram post, it happens again. His photo of Tolliver, a little French bulldog, has been liked by some 800,000 of our Insta followers. A photo tip: Vince says you can see Tolliver signal his intentions with his ears. For Nat Geo fans, Vince also got a dog on this adorable 2008 magazine cover—one of our most popular ever. | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY CIRIL JAZBEC
| | Ice is life: Cold, snowy winters are a defining element of Alpine lifestyle, folklore, and traditions—but a warming Earth is threatening that culture. Preservationist Gian-Nicola Bass practices what he preaches. Nat Geo Explorer Ciril Jazbec captures the Swiss conservationist soaking in ice-covered Lake Sils, which he believes toughens his immune system. See Ciril’s images in an exploration of the challenges facing the warming Alps, in our March issue of National Geographic.
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 | PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES P. BLAIR
| | Argentina’s ‘new beginning’: That was what National Geographic titled its 1985 look at a nation emerging from a seven-year dictatorship to a restored democracy, a suddenly vibrant cultural scene, and a high-level prosecution of former military leaders for the abductions and killings of more than 10,000 people. Photographer James P. Blair toured the country and many facets of its reopening. Sara Manco, the National Geographic Society’s senior photo archivist, chose the unpublished image (above) of Argentine cowhands, or gauchos, taking a break. “I love the photo for its quotidian nature,” she says.
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| This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Jen Tse, and Monica Williams. Have an idea or a link? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. | | | |
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