Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The birds of the Garbage Patch



The above photo shows the remains of an albatross chick on Midway Atoll, which is a collection of three small islands in the North Pacific, about halfway between the U.S. and Asia. Midway is one of the most remote places on earth. According to Mother Jones magazine it is that is one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries. Midway is in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Nesting chicks feed on pieces of plastic that their parents mistake as food. Thousands of birds die from starvation, choking, internal bleeding, and poisoning each year.

To see more of Chris Jordan's Midway photos go to chrisjordan.com. To learn more about Midway go to midwayjourney.com.



"To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent"
~Chris Jordan
October 2009


While Chris Jordan's photos show the harsh realities of pollution there is also a sort of morbid beauty about his photos. The colors contrasting against the textures of feather and bone. Through death these birds are certainly telling us a story.

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