Nature Photographer James Balog to Receive 2014 Duke LEAF Award
Balog best known for documenting the melting of ancient glaciers
Nature photographer James Balog will receive the 2014 Duke LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts in a public ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at Duke University.
A reception will follow the ceremony at 3:30 p.m. in Duke Environment Hall, the new 70,000-square-foot home of the Nicholas School of the Environment. Public and media tours will be offered during the reception.
The hall, which incorporates state-of-the-art green features inside and out, will be dedicated April 10.
The LEAF ceremony is in Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Center. The ceremony and reception are free, but tickets are required. They can be picked up at the Duke University Box Office in the Bryan Center or ordered online. There are service charges associated with online ticket reservations and "will call." Information is available at www.nicholas.duke.edu/leaf.
Balog is best known for his dramatic photos and time-lapse videos documenting the rapid melting of ancient glaciers as a result of climate change. He and his Extreme Ice Survey team were featured in the internationally acclaimed 2012 documentary "Chasing Ice" and in the 2009 NOVA special "Extreme Ice." He is the author of "ICE: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers" and seven other books.
The Duke LEAF has been presented annually by the Nicholas School of the Environment since 2009 to an artist whose work lifts the human spirit by conveying humanity's connection to the Earth. Past recipients have been Robert Redford, Jackson Browne, Barbara Kingsolver, John Sayles and Alexander McCall Smith.
Public parking is available in the Bryan Center Parking Deck and other visitor lots on campus, but may be limited as it is Duke Alumni Reunion Weekend.