08/28/14

Eco-Interview: John Hamilton, Children’s Book Illustrator and Conservationist

John Hamilton, children's book illustrator with chameleon

When did this all begin? Please tell us a bit about your work.

I am an artist and illustrator based in Manchester UK. My artwork has always been narrative /story-based, using oil on canvas, printmaking, and large-scale collage. My work includes characters acting out various scenarios and role play, as if from a film or stage play. I often include animals or people dressed as animals. I recently had a children’s picture book published called “The Boy Who Really Really Really loves Lizards” aimed at 3-7 year olds.

Go quietly so as not to wake the butterflies' oil on canvas, 2013

What is your educational background and what led to this creative path?

My background is in Fine Art. I did my degree back in 1990 and have been a practicing artist since then. A couple of years ago I did a Masters degree in Children’s Book Illustration. For the final project I wrote the story about my son Oliver who was obsessed by visits to the Manchester Museum, From the age of two he has loved the museum and would spend hours there.

inside the vivarium - illustration from the book

What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?

When I was doing research at the museum for the book, I became friendly with Andrew Gray, the curator of the vivarium. He specializes in the conservation of frogs and has done a lot of work to project many endangered species from Costa Rica and other places. His passion and commitment to the Museum is amazing. He was also responsible for getting the museum to publish my book which is a playful look at my boys obsession with the museum and the lizards, frogs and snakes. I think we saw it as a way to engage the younger visitors and to perhaps encourage them to become aware of the conservation involved. The museum features heavily in the book.

Today Oliver is going to the museum - illustration from the book

What can people do to help this cause?

The museum allows the public to sponsor the frogs and to contribute to the cost of research and support for the museum. Oliver recently sponsored a tiger monkey frog and got to meet it and hold it at the museum! You can also buy my book too!

Oliver with the Tiger Monkey Frog at the Manchester museum

How do you reach your targeted audience?
Is it through your website, advertising or social media or another route? Which is most effective and why?

I am trying to promote my book at the moment and I have been doing that through Facebook and Twitter as they both allow you to reach a large volume of people very quickly. It is also a good way of keeping in touch with people and informing them of events and new work. There is also a website for the book where I post features, reviews and workshop projects done with schools and colleges.

school workshop with John Hamilton

How do you keep the audience engaged over time?

Updates on Facebook and Twitter and by creating new links with organizations and groups with similar interests.

Tell us about your events around the world and some of the campaigns you have started.

The book is only available in the UK so that has been my main target but I would love it to go further afield! I have had emails from people in South Africa, Australia, France and the USA who have received the book, many as presents from the UK – so that is exciting!

children looking at tadpoles in manchester museum

What is in the works for the future? What haven’t you yet tackled, but will want to do soon?

I am working on another picture book possibly about butterflies or snails! I am hoping the museum may show an interest in publishing this one too. I want to try and make this one a bit more factual and to include facts and information to allow children to continue their interest in the subject.

Would you like to add a bit more?

No. Just a thank you for the opportunity to talk about the book and hopefully reach a few more people and encourage some more young people to really, really, really love lizards and frogs!

Boy who really really really loves lizards

To find John Hamilton online:

Website: http://www.johnhamiltonillustration.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbwrrrll
Twitter: @JohnHamilton17

For information on the Manchester Museum and their work with frogs and about sponsoring the frogs visit:
http://frogblogmanchester.com

04/3/13

Eco Interview: Coyote Peterson Brands, Swamp Monsters, Brave Wilderness and Polar Ghost

Eco Interview: Coyote Peterson Brands, Swamp Monsters, Brave Wilderness and Polar Ghost

coyote peterson brands

When was your organization founded?
Coyote Peterson Brands LLC, Swamp Monsters and Brave Wilderness were all founded in 2010.
Please tell us a bit about your mission and goals
Coyote Peterson Brands was founded to develop a wide variety of film and television projects (Swamp Monsters and Brave Wilderness are the first) to be hosted by Coyote Peterson.  Our goal is to use media platforms as a vehicle and outlet to help conservation messages be spread across the globe.  Ultimately we hope to inspire and educate- through adventure- the next generation of explorers and conservationists.
 
What is your educational background and what lead to creating this organization?
I have been fascinated with nature since I was probably 4 years old.  This prompted me to educate myself as much as I could about animals and outdoor/wilderness survival.  I went to The Ohio State University from which I have a degree in film writing, production and directing.  Post- college my team and I decided to combine filmmaking with the animal kingdom and we began developing television and film projects.
coyote peterson with snapping turtle
What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?
There is a laundry list of challenges we face each and every day.  Everything from raising funding in order to take an expedition for filming right down to surviving in the environment as we seek out the animals we hope to encounter and film.

Combining the world of filmmaking with animals and dangerous situations within environments is like a triple threat challenge.  Each one has its own obstacles and we take them on one at a time in a strategic manner.  We believe the key to succeeding at anything in life is nothing more than taking things one step at a time!

It is incredibly fun and rewarding work when things manage to pan out, and we always seem to find a way to make the impossible happen!  I credit that to my own ambitions and to an amazing producing team, camera team and the wonderful organizations and individuals that help us when on location filming.  When we do finally encounter animals that we seek in the wild…well that credit all goes to the beauty of nature and the “right place…right time” theory.
 
What can people do to help? Donate, and contribute to your cause? Other ideas?
Well, people can ALWAYS help.  Mostly we raise independent financing for our projects but this year we will tackle some huge conservation projects for which donations would be more than appreciated!  If people follow us through social media they will be able to keep up with what we are doing and we will advertise how to get involved. I also love to do public appearances and will always travel to meet new people and conservation groups.
coyote peterson icon
How do you reach your targeted audience?
We reach out to our audience mostly through the Internet.  For us it’s all about creating interesting content, whether original or shared from others.  If we can help educate and promote conservation for the planet and its animals we are doing the right thing.  We find that staying consistent with our work is the best way to garner a following.  Right now the CP Animal Anthology, which is a mixture of photograph collages and succinct facts, seems to keep our fans through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram entertained.  As we begin to release video content we are confident our fan base will only keep growing!
 
Is it through your website, advertising or social media or another route?
Right now its social media, although in the future these devices will be a way to push fans and followers toward our website and internet channels.
coyote peterson and gang on location
Which is most effective and why?
Most effective is probably Facebook, just because SO many people are on it multiple times a day.  It also allows you to share video and photo content quickly and links to all other social media platforms comfortably.  We use FB as our primary source of information sharing and combined with the iPhone it is an unstoppable force!  For example, the Animal Anthology is created using nothing more than the iPhone and the Internet…animal education and conservation are right in the palms of our hands…it’s so cool to live in an age when technology allows so much creativity!
 
How do you keep the audience engaged over time?
It’s all about new content.  However, it has to be GOOD content.  If you are consistently creating quality, people will keep coming back.  We aspire to really engage with our fan base and want to know what THEY want to see.  Social media is a huge help with that, because it allows our audience to interact and make suggestions!
 
Tell us about your events around the world and some of the campaigns you have started.
As we began Coyote Peterson Brands just two years ago, we have only travelled a limited amount.  Although we did go to Costa Rica to film, we find that there is much to be done in our own community, and hope that our audience adopts this message as well!  Our work in Columbus, Ohio has focused on research and conservation of wetland environment.  Specifically, we research Common Snapping Turtles, promote the preservation of their habitats, and educate a vast audience about these incredible and often misunderstood reptiles.

However, we are currently gearing up to start a conservation project and documentary film for Polar Bears which will be shot this fall in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.  Polar Bears are the largest land predator on the planet, yet they are disappearing as the sea ice they depend on for survival continues to melt away from climate change.  This will be our biggest undertaking yet in the realm of conservation, and we feel one of the most important we will ever have the chance to be a part of.  My team is unbelievably excited to be taking on this challenge and it will certainly be a life changing experience.
coyote peterson logo
What is in the works for the future?
We have so much planned it makes our heads spin!  We have two web/tv series in development.  Swamp Monsters sends my team and me across the eastern part of the US as we follow a trail of folklore stories, photographic evidence and scientific facts while tracking down giant snapping turtles, hoping to capture and release a new world record.  Brave Wilderness is an animal adventure and conservation series that follows my team and me into remote locations as we track down and film some of the planet’s most amazing and misunderstood animals.  This series will span the globe and encompass the entire animal kingdom; no animal is too big or small for these adventures!  Both series are in development and begin filming this summer.  Finally, Polar Ghost is our documentary on Polar Bears and their plight facing extinction in the wild.  This will be a feature length documentary that we will submit to film festivals and then hopefully distribute through a network like National Geographic.  So in short…2013 is going to be one crazy and adventure filled year!
 
What haven’t you yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
Ha ha, that’s a big one!  I guess our overall goal is to have spent time on every continent, filming with as many of the world’s animals as possible and doing our absolute best to work with and promote as many conservation groups as possible.  Brave Wilderness will truly be the vehicle for that goal and while I might host the series…it’s really the animals and the conservation groups that we will work with who are the “stars” of the series.  Animals need help and as long as humans are on the planet they always will.  It’s a long road but we can’t wait to travel it!
 
What else would like our readers to know?
We have a ton of incredible sponsors that believe in our vision for the future of animal entertainment and conservation and it’s because of these sponsors that we are geared to the max!  People always want to know where I get all of my cool stuff, from the hat to the multi-tools, and all of them can be found on my website.  The team and I feel incredibly lucky to have what we consider to be the best names in the world of animal adventure behind us!
 
Great video of a Frog and Toad!

 
Wild video of a Snapping Turtle… or two…

 
To learn more about Coyote Peterson Brands, visit and follow the links below:

Coyote Peterson’s website, blog and social media:

www.coyotepeterson.com
https://www.facebook.com/CoyotePeterson
https://twitter.com/coyotepeterson
http://instagram.com/coyotepeterson/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coyotepeterson/
http://vimeo.com/coyotepeterson
http://www.youtube.com/user/THEREPTILESHOW