Focus: Human Ingenuity in the Face of Great Change

Ultramarine Photo was founded because the photo licensing market needs to change.

While the big companies are consolidating and generating ugly, soulless assets with AI, we saw a clear need for environmental storytelling that is artistically rich, thematically deep and packed with cultural context. We're building foundational relationships with artists who possess a keen eye for these details, and pay loving attention to the world around them.

But another reason inspired us: the world is changing. Right under our noses. Irrevocably.

At Ultramarine Photo, we are extremely interested in documenting not just our evolving coastlines, but the way human beings adapt, respond to, and are forced to surrender to these changes. We're making a big bet that the story of humanity hinges on this evolution, and that our clientele will succeed in their communications ventures if they tune into this change, instead of turning a blind eye.

So ... what are we seeing so far? How are humans adapting to the earth's slow shift?

We Build Pathways and Repurpose Old Ones

When you tune into the world around you it's abundantly clear: everything is constantly in motion.

One of the most amazing things about the American West Coast is that nearly every pathway, from city to city and town to town, takes you through an awe-inspiring environment. The sort that inspires explorers, artists and zealots alike.

This landscape is wild and untamable. You can only make your way through.

Even as nature reclaims its rightful property, we gather in the ruins. Claim them as our own. 

Humans want staying power. We mark our claim with bombast and exuberance. Over and over again, we fail. Time comes for us. Turns us corny. We empty out and return to the Earth.

The only pathways that truly stand the test of time are those built in harmony with nature. That respect its motion, and follow along.

Like a dance instructor leading a young student. We are the baby in this equation.

And yet generations of us have seen the same sights. We climb mountains to pass the story down through generations. To inspire others to climb. We all reach for connections beyond our immediate reach. It’s very human to want more than you can see.

Sometimes the best choice is to rest. To find a little place to call home, and sit still to gather moss. That’s a pathway of its own.

Why explore the world when you can explore your own heart? Life presents us with these options and lets us choose, over and over.

But the momentum is undeniable. We are hurtling towards something and scarcely know what. Our descendants will know, and theirs after them.

The story can only go forward, never back.

We Pause to Marvel at the Beauty in Destruction

Amongst all the chaos of human civilization, there is immense beauty. We pause to gaze at it, celebrate it and take note. We gather around and seek it in each other. It’s what keeps the light on inside our hearts.

There are legends among us, whose steely gaze moved generations of people to fall in love, and to dream. Maybe they moved to California to become a star, and took up gardening when that didn’t work out.

We mark our most beautiful sights with places to sit with friends, or a lover. Perfect locations for first kisses, the whispering of secrets, making promises and breaking up.

 These are chapter markers in the story of our lives.

All around us, nature ebbs and flows, oblivious to our whims. It shows us that it’s been mastering this beauty thing for EONS, and scoffs at our fashion trends.

It says, “you think that’s perfect symmetry? Watch this.”

Our cities, no matter how grand, are just surfers on a wave. Left abandoned for long enough, nature would reclaim them too. It’s best to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Feel the breeze on your face and smile.

Even in destruction there is immense beauty. Moments shared between parents and their children, the passing down of generational tradition.

Therein lies our true staying power: the stories we tell each other. Their evolution.

Because the truth is, it could all end in the blink of an eye. With whatever senses you’re blessed with, you have to soak up everything you can in the time that you have.

It’s a moral imperative.

Energy is Finite – We Create, We Rest, and We Die

Everything is repurposed.

The fire you light has a cost – in fuel, motion, the spark required. It’s best to be mindful. You never know when the cost will be you, or when your tank will finally run out.

There are moments in life where you cannot fathom its beauty. How did I come to be in this place, at this moment? To witness something like this? How did I get so lucky? Will something like this ever happen to me again?

Part of being human is giving up sometimes, knowing when. Moving on. Letting a dream die.

The most long standing impact we get to have, so often, are the paths we carve for others.

We set examples of how to live, for what and for whom. Examples that others may follow to see the same sights, or something even better.

We empower those who come after us to tell even grander stories.

But to do this, you have to keep imagining. There’s a whole world out there, waiting.

To turn your back on it, to armor up and greet it with hostility, is to deny a core part of yourself.

It only leads to quiet misery.

Did you know that 94% of the Earth’s species are aquatic?

And you think your legs are so special.

Nature is an expert at renewal. Humans have a lot to learn. We’re stuck on ‘burning through’. Will we learn this lesson in time? No one is coming to save us from ourselves.

None of us can save the world. We can only do our small part, and marvel at it along the way. Walk a good path, tell others of what we see. What more could you ask of a person?

That’s about all.

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Check out all 24 of our carefully-curated collections, now available for licensing.