Science communication isn’t just about the results; it’s about the people and the stories behind them. I like to show the process, the the challenges, and the excitement that comes with scientific discovery to humanize science and encourage the audience to connect with researchers and their experiences.
Intimacy, color, action, and emotion
Photography is one of my favorite tools for communicating science. Whatever the subject, I approach photography with the goal of capturing action and emotion. I use color to inject a sense of vibrancy and I like to create a sense of intimacy wherever possible.
Showing the experience
Scientific fieldwork can be challenging and exciting, but those experiences aren’t often portrayed to the public. I produced this video detailing the experience of CIRES and NOAA researchers during the 2022 California Fire Dynamics Experiment to show just what scientists had to go through to collect measurements of active wildfires in real time. I focused on the day-to-day experiences of the researchers and how their work can improve wildfire response and fire weather forecasting.
Showing excitement
Often the best way to connect with an audience is to share your own excitement about your work. I produced this video for social media where a meteorologist explains how he designed a hail-observing system to operate on a moving vehicle. In addition to seeing his excitement, I wanted the audience to hear about the work directly from the researcher, allowing him to use stories, anecdotes, and humor to connect with viewers.
