Project Statement:
Bob is a young Caribbean flamingo who was living a pretty standard flamingo lifestyle with his friends until he recently made the unfortunate mistake of flying into a window of the Hilton Hotel Curaçao. He ended up by the swimming pool with a concussion and was brought to a local rehabilitation facility.
During his rehabilitation, a local vet found out he had been foraging near the local sea aquarium for two months and had become used to people. Since the vet was afraid Bob would get in trouble because of that, she decided not to release him back into the wild. Instead, she made him an ambassador for the ‘Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben’ (FDOC), a non-profit organization that facilitates education and research to benefit nature and conservation, which educates children about local wildlife and its environment.
Bob’s life has made a dramatic turn and is far from standard. He is a rising star, a true ambassador that is making a difference for all flamingos out there who have to deal with human development and habitat loss which threaten the coastal Caribbean wetlands.
Artist Bio:
Based in the Netherlands, Jasper Doest covers nature, conservation, and travel stories.
As a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), his photographs have received multiple awards and appeared in numerous international journals and books, including National Geographic, GEO and Smithsonian Magazine.
Jasper’s images depict what is beautiful around him, and how fragile that beauty is. In a single moment, he freezes nature but brings it to life more than ever before.
“Through my photography, I’m able to give a voice to the ones that are often overlooked. As our future is on the line, we need people to start caring about our environment on a daily basis. We need to educate them about the value of conservation work and we need to convince the public to choose local decision makers wisely. Our planet needs sustainability. Photographers can give a voice to the ones who cannot speak for themselves. Photographers can initiate change. That is my motivation and joy. It’s within the power of photography.” —Jasper Doest
