Mac Stone: Stunning photos of the endangered Everglades
Mac Stone: Splendide foto delle Everglades in pericolo
Florida-based photographer Mac Stone specializes in documenting the Everglades, an area he prizes for its wildlife and flora. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
and remote cultures
e culture remoti
this string of epiphanies
che si tratti di rivelazioni,
more something like this.
to stay at night,
bei posti per stare la notte,
the fanciest restaurants.
bei ristoranti.
whatever's on the local menu.
quel che c'è sui menu locali.
a large rodent called a cuy.
chiamato quwi.
perhaps a little bit different
un po' diverse
than that of the average person
in the back of our mind
and those times of despair,
e nei momenti di disperazione,
an image to be made here,
una foto da scattare,
da raccontare."
cultural and our natural heritage.
con la nostra eredità culturale e naturale.
between the public
tra il pubblico
us to be here in the first place.
che ci permettono di stare qui.
to teach us what we know.
come insegnamento.
aren't going to willingly go
di spontanea iniziativa
those same people to then advocate
che quelle stesse persone si schierino
as a communication tool,
come strumento di comunicazione,
between the science and the aesthetics,
tra scienza e estetica,
right here in Gainesville,
proprio qui a Gainesville,
with adventure and discovery,
dell'avventura e della scoperta,
all these different places
from my front doorstep.
of beautiful places to find.
da scoprire.
through the eyes of a child
attraverso gli occhi di un bambino
that sense of wonderment
quel senso di meraviglia
into my photography
nella mia fotografia
because here in the South,
with a relatively blank canvas
di avere questa tela bianca
fanciful adventures
con le avventure più fantasiose
our imagination will take us.
ci porterà l'immaginazione.
look at this and they say,
these were the types of images
questo era il genere di immagine
and dared me to explore,
e andare a esplorare,
and see what we have.
per vedere cosa c'è.
all over the world
promoting all the wrong things.
a promuovere le cose sbagliate.
they'll have been to Disney World
sono tutti stati a Disney World
or Mickey; I used to go there, too.
o Topolino; ci andavo anch'io.
fundamental connections
questi collegamenti fondamentali
of pride and ownership
di orgoglio e appartenza
that the landscapes
al problema che i paesaggi
for our drinking water
per l'acqua potabile
and dangerous and spooky.
pericolose e inquietanti.
arrivarono qui la prima volta,
of these areas, they're haunted.
da queste zone, sono infestate.
they came up with that idea.
to a very real disconnect,
disinterested, silent,
ha messo a rischio l'ambiente.
and defined by water,
e definito dalle acque,
sono stati considerati
as these second-class ecosystems,
di seconda categoria,
very little monetary value
to harbor alligators and snakes --
per la presenza di serpenti e alligatori --
the most cuddly of ambassadors.
non sono ambasciatori proprio adorabili.
that the only good swamp
che l'unica palude buona
for agriculture and development
a agricoltura e sviluppo
of conservation not too long ago.
la vera essenza della salvaguardia.
about these sodden landscapes,
da questi terreni fradici,
watersheds and flyways.
spartiacque e rotte migratorie.
it's a swamp bird,
perché è un uccello da palude,
in these old-growth swamps
e si riproducono in queste vecchie paludi
after they raise their young,
dopo aver allevato i piccoli,
over the Gulf of Mexico
sul Golfo del Messico
e il Sudamerica.
and they come back.
over the Gulf of Mexico.
sul Golfo del Messico.
of a tennis ball --
di una pallina da tennis --
flies over the Gulf of Mexico
sopra il Golfo del Messico
and it flies back,
all too commonly unraveling
that's occurred for thousands of years
che si verifica da migliaia di anni
to learn about these landscapes
che potremmo imparare di questi paesaggi
that abounds in these swamps,
che abbonda in queste paludi,
with the idea of wading
all'idea di guadare
in the Sunshine State
da ragazzo in Florida
but very palpable fear
di molto più antico
di quanto non siamo noi.
is a welcomed discomfort, I think.
provoca disagio.
and urban and digital age
moderna e urbana
to feel vulnerable,
di sentirvi vulnerabili,
have been made for just us?
potrebbe non essere fatto solo per noi?
where the concrete yields to forest
dove il cemento diventa foresta
mosquitoes and reptiles,
true wilderness,
la vita selvaggia,
obsessed with blackwater,
ossessionato dalle acque,
eventually end up
into a five-year project
un progetto di cinque anni
the Everglades in a new light,
nuova luce alle Everglades,
because here you have an area
perché questa zona
the state of Florida, it's huge.
dello stato della Florida, è enorme.
"Oh, yeah, the national park."
it's an entire watershed,
è un intero spartiacque,
chain of lakes in the north,
con la catena di laghi Kissimmee,
would fall in the summer,
into Lake Okeechobee,
nel lago Okeechobee,
and it would overflow its banks
si riempie e straripa
with the topography,
the Sawgrass Prairies,
le praterie Sawgrass,
into the mangrove swamps,
nella palude di mangrovie,
reaching Florida Bay,
is the southern end of this system,
è l'estremità sud del sistema,
are these inputs that come in,
è tutto ciò che lo alimenta,
100 miles north.
da 160 km a nord.
or invisible boundaries
or insufficient water.
dalle acque inquinate o insufficienti.
what we've done.
quello che abbiamo fatto.
we have dredged the Everglades
condannato, dragato le Everglades
that used to reach the bay
and rainbows, unfortunately.
sole e arcobaleni, sfortunatamente.
is intrinsically tied
è strettamente legata
of mankind's relationship
these beautiful pictures,
I can tell you the real story.
posso raccontarvi la vera storia.
of which we're discussing.
di cui stiamo parlando.
responsible for the drinking water
responsabili dell'acqua potabile
the agricultural fields
of water in the summer
dell'acqua in estate
6,000 years ago.
6000 anni fa.
for the over half a million acres
di più di 0,2 milioni di ettari
that are responsible
of fertilizers into the watershed,
di fertilizzanti nelle zone protette
understand how this system works,
connected to it,
into several different narratives.
in più capitoli.
in Lake Okeechobee,
al Lago Okeechobeem
del sistema Everglade.
ho scelto un ambasciatore,
to about 400 nesting pairs today.
one source of food, an apple snail,
un verme da mela,
an aquatic gastropod.
un gasteropoda.
the Everglades,
dighe nelle Everglades,
and draining the wetlands,
a arginare il Lago Okeechobee
of the kites declined.
not only communicate this relationship
comunicasse questa relazione
that would communicate
che ne comunicasse
that they've come to depend on each other,
la dipendenza reciproca
e questo uccello.
out these plans to make a photo,
down in Okeechobee --
so it takes special permission to do.
just right under the water.
this crazy idea.
a pianificare questa idea folle.
down to Lake Okeechobee
al Lago Okeechobee
più di una settimana in acqua,
9-hour shifts from dawn until dusk,
su turni da nove ore fino al tramonto,
might communicate this.
che pensavo potesse comunicare.
ha funzionato:
After setting up the platform,
Dopo aver installato la piattaforma,
coming over the cattails.
e vedo un nibbio oltre le tife.
he goes straight for the trap.
all those months of planning, waiting,
di pianificazione e attesa,
I can't believe it!]
non ci posso credere]
when that happened.
quanto fossi emozionato.
who's never seen this bird
che non ha mai visto questo uccello
on just one species
so incredible, so valuable, so important.
così incredibile, importante.
here to Gainesville
in the Everglades
ci sono cresciuto insieme.
an unhealthy relationship with gators.
con gli alligatori.
equivalent of sharks.
they're not just apex predators.
non sono solo dei superpredatori.
of the Everglades,
down in the winter
in inverno,
called gator holes.
chiamate gator holes.
as the water drops down,
and they'll be able to forage.
e di cercare cibo.
on this relationship,
da questa relazione,
an ancient reptile,
un antico rettile,
sembrare vulnerabile?
of about 120 of them,
the right decision.
la decisione giusta.
I'm not going to rally you guys,
"Save the Everglades for the gators!"
le Everglades per gli alligatori!"
they're so ubiquitous,
success stories of the US.
più riuscite degli Stati Uniti.
that no matter who you are,
che chiunque siate,
and that's the roseate spoonbill.
la spatola rosata.
a really tough time in the Everglades,
ma se la sono vista brutta,
of nesting pairs in Florida Bay,
con migliaia di coppie nella Florida Bay,
they looked better on their hats
che fossero più belle sui cappelli
a crescere di nuovo.
is intrinsically tied
è profondamente legato
cycle of water in the Everglades,
the Everglades watershed.
lo spartiacque delle Everglades.
as the water drew down,
con la discesa delle acque,
so they have to touch whatever they eat.
qualunque cosa mangino.
concentrated pools of fish
ad alta concentrazione di pesce
to feed their young.
of the Everglades --
l'icona delle Everglades --
of the overall health of the system.
della salute del sistema.
in the mid-20th century --
alla normalità a metà del 20° secolo --
draining the southern Everglades.
a prosciugare le Everglades.
of that water from moving south.
di spostarsi a sud.
started reaching their peak,
raggiungevano il picco,
the real spoonbill story,
la vera storia delle spatole,
is more something like this.
nesting pairs in Florida Bay today,
nella Florida Bay oggi,
the system so much.
are shouting, they're screaming,
despite all we've done and we've drained
che ci siamo presi,
waiting to be put back together.
aspettano di essere rimessi insieme.
about South Florida,
del sud della Florida:
this unstoppable force of mankind
la forza inarrestabile dell'uomo
of tropical nature.
con l'inamovibile natura tropicale.
that we are forced with a new appraisal.
a valutare le cose diversamente.
or our drinking water?
o dell'acqua potabile?
on those questions.
as residents, as stewards
residenti, ambasciatori
to their promises.
ai nostri rappresentanti.
che proteggere la natura
but economic sense as well.
ma anche economicamente.
put your feet in the water.
mettete i piedi nell'acqua.
around the country,
and these natural areas
e queste zone naturali
as iconic and emblematic
starting to come around,
ci stiamo finalmente riuscendo,
this swampy wasteland,
una terra desolata paludosa,
of international importance.
in the last 60 years.
ambitious wetland restoration project,
di ricostruzione di palude
is on us in the Sunshine State.
sulla Florida.
for wetland restoration
della ricostruzione di paludi
we want to attach our flag to.
vogliamo attaccare la bandiera.
is our greatest test.
siano la nostra grande prova.
riusciamo a pulire il pianeta.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mac Stone - PhotographerFlorida-based photographer Mac Stone specializes in documenting the Everglades, an area he prizes for its wildlife and flora.
Why you should listen
Mac Stone is a conservation photographer from Gainesville, Florida. Growing up exploring the springs, swamps, and hammocks of North Central Florida, he developed a passion for photography at a young age.
Over the years his camera has carried him to some of the most remote and imperiled areas this side of the globe. For six months, Stone lived in Ecuador during the presidential overthrow of 2005 and worked with Wildlife Conservation Society biologists in the Amazon rainforest. Soon after, he moved to Honduras and lived in a small village along the Cangrejal River. For two years he taught photography to underprivileged youth as a way to raise environmental awareness in the region. Some of the students have gone on to win international acclaim and start up their own eco-tourism businesses. Through photography, Stone strives to start new conversations and expose the dynamic relationship between mankind and the natural world.
Currently, his work focuses on America's swamps in an attempt to change public opinion towards our country’s wetlands. After spending five years living and working in the Everglades watershed, he will be releasing a 304-page coffee table book about the heralded River of Grass. Everglades: America's Wetland, published by University Press of Florida in October 2014 has won a silver medal with the Florida Book Awards and is now in its second printing.
Mac Stone | Speaker | TED.com