Hi all!

It is been awhile since my last blog post, but I have been really busy. Today I would like to announce that I am involved in the "Forever Yours - The Land" campaign, created by the Palmer Land Trust. 

This campaign is a city-wide project enabling artists to share their passion for conservation, nature and art. I have been working the last few months to find partners that work to conserve and protect our public lands and the amazing landscapes of Colorado. My work with the Palmer Land Trust is only the beginning of me supporting conservation projects and bringing awareness to this very important topic. After all, I am a Landscape and Wildlife Photographer. I want my work to make a difference and to help ensure that future generations have the same opportunities to experience nature than we do.

More more information check out the Celebrate Land webpage: Celebrate Land

I also gave an interview to Melissa Stewart and the Tri-Lakes Tribune about my work and the "Forever Yours - The Land" campaign. In case you missed it, here is the excerpt from the newspaper:

To inspire the community to connect with and conserve the land, Palmer Land Trust will launch “Forever Yours, The Land,” a month-long, regional art exhibit showcasing 60 artists and 100 venues in the Pikes Peak region on Friday. Palmer Land Trust is a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit organization that has worked to protect public open spaces, scenic areas, landscapes, recreation spaces, as well as working farms and ranches in southern Colorado since 1977. Colorado Springs is projected to surpass Denver in population by 2050. Community sup- port for land conservation is important
to Palmer Land Trust’s efforts, Rebecca Jewett, executive director of Palmer Land Trust said.

Palmer Land Trust garnered financial support from Great Outdoors Colorado to raise awareness about the land and to help instill a passion for conservation in the community. According to Jewett, awareness is the first step in creating passionate conservation advocates who will take a stand for the land, whether it is through voting, volunteering, donating or just appreciating its beauty. Leveraging the vibrant arts community in the region is a way to bring the beauty and inspiration of the land into the city.

“Artists are an amazing platform for sharing that love because nature is an inspiration for many artists, especially local artists, so using their creativity and their passion (is) a way to bring (their) celebration and love for the land into our city for a month,” Jewett said.

Local photographer Benjamin Schneider sees beauty and art not only in mountain ranges but also in the little things that others could miss. Wanting to share his view of Colorado’s beauty with the community, he contacted Palmer Land Trust about participating in ‘Forever Yours, The Land.’ Schneider’s work will be showing at Bella Art and Frame in Monument, starting Aug. 16. “I really want to help people see what I see,” Schneider said of his desire to share his photos. “I think it’s important for us to make sure we keep our open spaces and all those landscapes (protected) because if you don’t, future generations will not be able to use them anymore, and I think we would lose something of our heritage as humans and (that) those are just important spaces.”

Schneider began taking photos in 2009 after seeing his friend’s new camera. He was impressed by the quality of photos,
and decided to buy a camera of his own. He quickly realized a good photo is not solely dependent on the camera, but also on the photographer, so he poured himself into learning his new craft. The German native met his wife when she was stationed at an Army base in Germany. Her military assignments eventually brought the couple to Colorado where Schneider began photographing Colorado landscapes and nature.
“It’s just so much bigger here,” Schneider said. “You have very nice areas (in Germany) too, but you go somewhere and you cannot walk for hours because there’s always cities around, there’s always villages around and that kind of stuff. (Here) you can drive to the mountains and just keep
on walking for hours and (not) see another person if you want to, so it’s definitely justthe size of it.”

Schneider is passionate about using his photography to make a difference. “I would just hope that my pictures help (conservation) organizations do their jobs and help keep open those open spaces so everyone can use them,” Schneider said. “We are still in a military family right now, we move every now and then, so it’s not that I can have a big impact in one specific place, but I think because we move I can maybe have an impact on different places.” Schneider added. For more information about “Forever Yours, The Land,” visit www.celebrateland.org. To see more of Schneider’s photos,
visit www.justbenphotography.com/colorado.

Thank you to Melissa, The Tri-Lakes Tribune and the Palmer Land Trust for giving me the opportunity to talk about my passion and to inspire other people to work with us!

As mentioned in the interview, I will be in Monument this week, Thursday, August 16th, to showcase some of my work at BellaArtandFrame and I look forward to meet you there!

Ben