May 25th, 2018 - Late last year I proposed the idea of an underwater photoshoot to Zoggs, an Australian swimwear company. I had done some work with one of their ambassadors, Andre Wiersig previously, and had a conversation with him about his experiences encountering plastic in the ocean as an open water swimmer. At the time, Zoggs was getting ready to announce their new line of swimwear, made from a material called Ecolast, which is made out of plastic that has been recovered from the ocean.

 

The idea was to show plastic in the ocean next to the Ecolast swimsuit. The juxtaposition of these two forms would show the plastic as it is now next to what it could be. The present and the future. Defeat and hope. Despair and optimism.

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Projects like this are what gets me the most excited. The ocean has given so much to me my whole life, and it just doesn't feel right to reap the benefits of the place so many of us consider home without giving back to it in some way.

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I've noticed a shift in myself and in my attitude when I talk about environmentally based projects. I feel a flame inside me and I don't think it's coincidence. This urge to learn as much as I can, and do as much as I can to help... something is pulling me in the direction of conservationism and all I know is that the sensation is too strong to ignore.