In 2015, American Photo Magazine named MacArthur Genius grant recipient and Pulitzer-winning photographer Lynsey Addario one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years, writing that “Addario changed the way we saw the world’s conflicts.”
Over the past 20 years, Addario has covered every major conflict and humanitarian crisis of her generation.
These include Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, South Sudan, Somalia, Congo, and more recently Ukraine.
For her first NFT Drop, Addario is releasing pieces from a very different conflict — the ongoing climate crisis — as represented by on-the-ground photos of two catastrophic 2021 wildfires.
In her first piece, Addario captures what looks like a moment in hell as the Caldor fires illuminate the Lake Tahoe Lodge as it’s consumed on August 29, 2021.
The dramatic fire activity was seen during a day when red flag warnings were in effect: humidity was low and winds were high, among other contributing factors. The Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021, and burned roughly 221,000 acres. The photos were shot on assignment for National Geographic with the help of a grant from the National Geographic Society.
In the second photograph, Addario captures a rare moment of rest for three firefighters in the middle of the Dixie Fire at the Butte Lake Campground. The three silhouettes are captured at such an intense and frightening moment that their uncertainty, fear, exhaustion, and wonder jump out of the scene more acutely than any close-up portrait could achieve.
The Dixie Fire started on July 13, 2021, in Feather River Canyon southeast of Lassen Volcanic National Park. The fire entered the southeast corner of the park near Juniper Lake on August 5, 2021. The Dixie Fire reached its final size of 73,240 acres within the park on September 30. On October 26, the Dixie Fire reached 100% containment with a total size of 963,309 acres making it the largest single fire in California history.
Through this drop, Addario wants to raise global awareness of the severe effects of climate change, while honoring those affected by the 2021 fires.
“This collection is especially powerful because it demonstrates how climate change is destroying our environment,” said Addario. “Showing people, not just telling them, why this is an urgent global issue is my primary goal; and I chose MakersPlace to launch my first NFT collection, because of our shared values. The company is committed to the environment with its carbon-neutral drop program, and they are all about supporting creators who are looking to express themselves in new ways.”
The carbon-neutral NFT Collection will be offset using Aerial, a sustainability platform that calculates the carbon emissions based on associated energy use. The offsets will be allocated to high-quality forest conservation projects verified by American Carbon Registry and to emerging technologies such as Charm industrial that capture carbon from biomass waste and permanently store it underground.
CALDOR FIRE, BURNING CABIN
- Editions: 1/1
- Pricing: Auction with a $2,000 reserve
The winner receives a signed Nat Geo cover, a signed archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper (worth $2,500, includes shipping), and a 30-minute Q&A with the creator.
DIXIE FIRE, BUTTE LAKE CAMPGROUND
- Editions: 5/5
- Pricing: $400 fixed price
