Janie Moore Greene Scholarship Grant supports Pitzer College student

June 1, 2021 by Website Administrator

Images © Beihua Guo

The North American Nature Photography Association Foundation (NANPA Foundation) named Beihua Guo of Agoura Hills, CA, recipient of the 2020 Janie Moore Greene Scholarship Grant. The $2,000 award supports Guo’s continued studies at Pitzer College.

Guo moved to the United States in 2013 and was immediately drawn to the national park system. “Growing up in Shanghai, China, a densely populated urban environment, I never experienced serene nature in my childhood,” he explained.

But as a teenager discovering America’s public lands, Guo was inspired by artists including Thomas Moran and Ansel Adams, as well as John Muir’s efforts in promoting preservation. “My love of the outdoors and landscape photography started to emerge,” he said.

Guo was awarded artist residencies in Lassen Volcanic National Park (CA), Petrified Forest National Park (AZ), and Yellowstone National Park. His studies at Pitzer College in California have included studio art and environmental analysis, but Guo also feels a responsibility to use his nature photographs to address social and environmental issues.

“One of my main interests is water issues in the American West. My Salton Sea series explores the escalating environmental disasters triggered by human activities in the Salton Sea,” said Guo. Located in Southern California, the Salton Sea was accidentally created in 1905 when the Colorado River breached an irrigation canal, flooding the Salton Basin. The manmade lake was once a popular tourist destination, but agricultural runoff and other pollutants resulted in fish and bird die-offs as well as rapidly increasing salinity, threatening the entire ecosystem. “I want to use my photographs and installations to emphasize the process of extraction and excavation, as well as how human activities shape the natural and built environments.”

About the Janie Moore Greene Scholarship Grant

The Janie Moore Greene Scholarship is a $2,000 award presented biennially by the NANPA Foundation to a student specializing in the study of photography at an institution of higher education. The next grant cycle is expected to begin in fall 2022.

2016 Janie Moore Greene Grant is Awarded to Jiayu Su

December 12, 2016 by Susan Day

Award recognizes those studying photography in higher education.

Image © Jiayu Su

Jiayu Su of Powell, Wyoming has been named the 2016 Janie Moore Greene Grant recipient. He is a first-year student pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree in Photographic Communications at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.

Su described the events that have led him to study photography:

“Around five years ago, I was invited to visit a small valley in a poor area in China. I had never been interested in photography until I took a picture of a little girl, who was looking at me with a bright and shining eyes. That picture touched me so much. I found out what a magical power of the photos which can change people’s heart or perspective. Then, I started to devote in taking photos.

I have never thought about photography would be my future job before I came to college. I studied communication before and I considered photography would just be my hobby. I never thought it would be my career, but after I have seen some of the images of the Yellowstone National Park which have been taken by the students in my college, I changed my mind, and also changed my major. I love nature photography so much, no matter if it is landscape or wildlife. I want to study photography and I want to be a professional photographer.

Image © Jiayu Su

I want to gain some professional experience during my two years in the college. And I am going to be a nature photographer so that I can record the changing of our beautiful natures in the world and provide my photos to some magazines or organizations like NANPA so that people would pay more attention to our environment.”

The Janie Moore Greene Grant is a $1,000 award given annually by the NANPA Foundation through the generosity of Janie Moore Greene to a student currently enrolled in, or who has been accepted to, an institution of higher education specializing in the study of photography.

Applications for the 2017 award will be accepted beginning in late summer. For more information and updates, visit the NANPA Foundation website.

Michelle A. Butler Chosen as 2015 Janie Moore Greene Grant Recipient

January 15, 2016 by Susan Day

Award recognizes those studying photography in higher education.

Michelle A. Butler of Middletown, Delaware, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2015 Janie Moore Greene Scholarship Grant. She is completing her master’s of fine arts degree from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.

Ms. Butler is working on a photo-documentary thesis project to raise awareness about the condition of birds in the Americas. It highlights the habitats needed for nesting, wintering and migration and calls for conservation efforts that citizens can make to help protect these essential components to our ecosystem.

Applications for the 2016 award will be accepted beginning in late summer. For more information and updates, visit the NANPA Foundation website.