It's an age old question. We believe it can, so over the coming months we'll take a look around the globe to find artists that are working to help people reconnect with the planet. Our first eco-artist is Lorne Warburton, a photographer based in Whistler, Canada.
Lorne is an international award-winning fine art photographer. Lorne’s photography has been featured in magazines, galleries, multi-media presentations and fine art shows. He has been a contributing stock photographer to Farmboy Fine Arts Inc. since 2006. He is a local boy - raised on southern Vancouver Island where he studied photography. After graduation, his photography led him around the globe photographing fashion & lifestyle in Costa Rica to monks in Thailand to cultural portraits in the Himalayas. His appreciation for people and the natural world gives his work a gentle timeless beauty.
We caught up with Lorne to ask him a few questions about his photographic connection to the nature, how art serves activism and for a bit more info on the yoga calendar project he is working on.
How did you start photographing the outdoors?
I have always been surrounded by nature since growing up in a small town on the ocean and later trying to live in a big city where you realize that the natural world is a much more enjoyable place to be. It is easy to photograph a subject when there is passion for it. I’m always out in nature, from going on a walk to climbing with friends, it is always there, and I just started documenting my surroundings.
Nature is very healing and I think for someone to view an image with a human element helps them to identify a sense of being there.
How would you describe your work?
I would think that my images are felt as much as they are seen, there tends to be some underlying emotion in my images that people pick up on that gives it more substance. Over the course of the past few years I think that its fair to say that it is turning more into
fine-art imagery. It is an ongoing evolution also, you are always trying to become better or more creative, it is something that never settles, and I think that helps to drive you to become a better photographer.
How do you work?
I’m not a technical photographer like some, I am more on the spontaneous side, I might see something that inspires me to shoot but may hold back for a different season or different light. I prefer to shoot from the hip, so to speak. I don't try and do much planning, if I am shooting someone I just let it happen naturally which I find helps to make the person more comfortable and helps to make the image more natural and realistic.
Where has your photography taken you?
I have been fairly lucky that photography has really created a world of opportunities for me; I have managed to travel much of the globe - Central America, Asia, India, Cuba, and Europe. I’ve done ski photography in Whistler, fashion and music in Vancouver, street photography in NYC, photographing Tibetan monks in the Himalayas, to rock climbing in Thailand. I’ve done more with it than I thought I ever would and it feels like I’m just getting started.
Describe some of your favourite images.
I love photographing cultures and people, spending time at a Tibetan monastery and documenting a culture that is slowly shrinking was a highlight. I have a series of images I shot last year of Joffre Glacier that I love; the California redwoods are another series of images that are powerful.
From a nice scenic image to a photo-essay on industrial pollution, if the message is getting across to people then it can help people get involved.
Describe your favourite photoshoot.
Favorite photo-shoots are the ones where I’m happy with the results and where people are moved or touched by the image created. I would have to say that it is a shoot where there is something meaningful happening and the content is very strong. I know this sounds vague but as long as the results are good and people are touched by the image then I consider it would be a great shoot.
In some of your work, you have people interacting with the environment - describe how you see that relationship?
It’s great to see a landscape image or a portrait but when I see a beautiful nature scene with human interaction, those are the images I love to see and I guess that’s why I create a lot of them, it helps to give the image perspective and emotion...it makes you to want to be there and you feel more engaged to the photograph. Nature is very healing and I think for someone to view an image with a human element helps them to identify a sense of being there.
Does photographing the environment help people to appreciate it?
A lot of people live in cities or do not get the opportunity to travel, by sharing images of the environment it helps them to see the beauty that they never get to experience or learn about a disaster that they never new about. With the Internet and the amount of information being shared it’s easy these days to touch millions of people without leaving your house, and a camera is an easy medium to get it out there.
Can photography motivate people to get involved in the eco-movement?
I believe so, it is about creating awareness and that comes in many mediums and photography is a tool for that. From a nice scenic image to a photo-essay on industrial pollution, if the message is getting across to the people then it can help people get involved.
What equipment do you use?
I'm not a technical photographer, for me it is more about the composition, content and creativity. I went digital almost 3 years ago and I’m still using the same camera, Nikon D70. It’s a chasing game trying to keep up with technology and I’m not into that. The D70 is only 6 megapixels and I've made prints as big as 3.5 feet by 7 feet. I'm looking at upgrading to a Nikon D300 later this year maybe. For lenses I try and keep it simple also, I shoot mainly with a short wide-angle zoom; it is good for nature and working in close with people.
I have always been aware of living a simple life and walking softly through this world.
What are you working on now?
A close friend of mine passed away this past spring. She was a yoga instructor in Whistler and last time I saw her she told me she wanted to put together a yoga calendar. So, in memory of her, I am in the in middle of shooting this project right now, were hoping to 
have it printed by next May and launch it on the anniversary of her passing, it’s a very rewarding project to work on and the money raised from it will go to charity.
What does the future hold?
It would be great to look back at your life and see that I created something of substance that can inspire and move masses of people to become more engaged in the bigger picture and to realize that there is a lot more to life than our own small worlds we live in day to day.
Where can we see more of your stuff?
I have a website -www.fotogroove.com - it's a few years old and feel like its not a true representation of my current work.
Lastly, are you a green guy?
I'm not someone who is a large consumer to begin with. There are people out there losing sleep and bending over backwards to better the environment. I have always been aware of living a simple life and walking softly through this world. I have a veggie garden, eat locally and healthy…always recycle. One can always do more to be green, but there should be a balance of quality of life and giving back to the natural world through charity or by helping create awareness.
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