JASON GULLEY

Geologist who uses a camera to show human impact on the earth.

jasongulley.smugmug.com

MOON SHOTS I started taking photos in high school. Originally, I wanted to get a 35 mm SLR (film) camera so I could hook it up to my telescope and take pictures of the moon. Then my family got me a how-to photography book so I’d learn how to use the all-manual camera. I got so interested in it that I forgot about my telescope. ALL BY CHANCE The pandemic’s travel restrictions killed all my international field research. We have springs here in Florida that are in environmental decline. I was never interested in manatees but needed one photograph to show that springs are important manatee habitats. I jumped into a spring on the Suwannee River and watched eight or

10 manatees playing with ea h other. They came up to me and swam in circles, doing things I’d never seen manatees doing. TAKING ACTION The manatee population is undergoing a massive die-off because pollution has wiped out seagrass beds, an important manatee food source. After photographing manatees at rehabilitation centers, I’m impressed by how resilient they are. I’ve seen severely injured manatees recover, push through traumatic experiences and go on to live happy lives.