Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Harvey.
Hi Sherri, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a student of the great outdoors with a love for travel and for the natural world. My photographs and writing highlight the spirit and capture the movement of the wild heart of life. I am an animal advocate, an eco storyteller, and a connoisseur of the great outdoors. I have ventured to many countries to take pictures of wild orangutans, elephants, cape buffalo, horses, dogs…giving a voice to the voiceless and highlighting the impact of climate change for future generations. To save the planet and the animals who need our help, we must somehow relate to them, and photos and stories have the power to evoke that compassion. We must make their stories heard. Every one of us has a story worth sharing, and a single photo can create common ground and foster empathy. A single photograph holds the power to unite cultures, share communion and promote eco-change. Please support my cause at www.sunsherphoto.com.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Type 1 diabetes is my greatest challenge and my biggest teacher. Harnessing all the disease has taught me over the years has made me a tough cookie, and for that, I am grateful.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a kid with a camera, I learned to see. I learned to tell stories and capture memories. I knew, early on, that I wanted to be an instrument for change. One picture can make me sing. One picture can bring me to tears. When I share them, it’s like I am talking to the world in an intimate conversation. As a photographer (and writer, and eco-storyteller) I live to advocate for the animals, for the oceans and trees need a voice. In this digital economy, we have a multitude of ways to make our voice heard. And we have a responsibility to be the voice for those that can’t speak. Think about why you’re compelled to take a picture of something. Figure out what message you want to share, then shout it from the rooftops. Be an instrument for the changes you want to see.
My project, Celebrate Wild!, helps to ensure that future generations can enjoy our natural world and all of the incredible species we get to share it with. I will be traveling to Thailand and Tanzania in 2022 to tell stories of the people fighting for animal conservation and rights, but I need your help in making these trips possible. I will be working with Photographers without Borders — diverse, ethically literate community of storytellers (photographers and filmmakers) uniting to support our frontlines community partners (NGOs, community-led initiatives, and change-makers in the areas of social and environmental justice) where it’s needed most. Any help you can offer demonstrates your commitment to saving the animals and people involved in conservation efforts around the world. How you spend your dollars is a powerful way to show support. Under “projects” on my website, you can find links about the projects and links to sponsor me,
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love all things wild. Let the WILD in me speak to the FERAL in you. Horses and coyotes are my spirit animals. In my photos, I scratch at the surface of the mundane and extraordinary, forcing them to give up their secret transient moments so I may be fortunate enough to capture and share them.
As an eco-storyteller, I yearn to be the experience I chase after and shoot. I want to be that lion streaking across the Masai Mara, that old man who fished with Hemingway, a momma elephant, that poet reading to a sold-old theatre…I am greedy for experience. I want to live all the lives and moments. But I have to settle for holding up my round glass and catching reflected light.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.sherricoyote.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherricoyote/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherri.harvey
- Other: https://fundly.com/celebrate-wild
Image Credits:
Sherri Harvey
