Film photographer and environmental engineer Ella Ocean walks the line between science and art, directing her lens to the wide and wild heart of U.S. national parks and their need for our protection. Born on the windswept shores of Texas’s Galveston Island, she embraced nature's cadence as the daughter of a science teacher and a forester.

Her photography serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of the untouched spaces dubbed as national parks — urging viewers to recognize their role in conserving them. The National Park Service, established in 1916, oversees 433 nature reserve sites, including 63 designated “National Parks”.

As climate change accelerates, national parks face unprecedented challenges. Thawing permafrost in Denali National Park in Alaska threatens infrastructure with landslides and a warming atmosphere with the release of stored carbon; while the Great Smoky Mountains witness earlier springs and altered stream flows from torrential rain, disrupting delicate ecosystems. Her images are not just artistic expressions but calls to action to stand up for the rights of the planet and its natural majesty.

**Otter Point State Recreation Site** - Oregon

Safelight: How would you describe your photographic style, and how it’s evolved through your exploration of U.S. national parks?

Ella: The goal for all my photos is to try and convey in a single portrait every element of my senses when I was in that moment. This typically leads to wide landscape shots, where there is so much to take in it is almost overwhelming. To me, it’s comforting to observe how mighty the Earth can be in all her different biomes. Trying to capture that awe that you can hear, see, and feel is my style. Something to engulf you and make you feel like you are there. The more parks and regions I visit, the more amazed I am at how many different wonders there are on Earth. A great sand dune existing on the same continent as an ancient glacier. The scale of our country is truly immense, it deserves our reverence and I believe my attempts to capture it are to share that demand.

**Point Reyes National Seashore** - California

Safelight: National Parks offer a window into the primordial wonders of North America prior to settler expansion and industrialization. Why is it important to capture the grandeur and subtle details of these spaces untouched by human development?

Ella: Most folks already have some intrinsic understanding that these natural and relatively “untouched” areas represent the physical juxtaposition that the human race has created upon Earth. That this is what our planet may look like without humans “destroying” it. But are these places not existing alongside us? Are they not a message of what we can live amongst if we have better protections and education in place?

**Golden Gate National Recreation Area** - California

It may be a big leap to a reality like that, but I say it is not only important, but imperative to capture these landscapes to remind us of that. That areas without colonial development exist and we can uplift them so they are available to everyone. In that same vein, it is also a reminder of how much “development” we have put our planet through. Sure, the parks are considered the best of the best when it comes to natural beauty, but our entire world used to be untouched by humans in a similar way.

**Mount Rainier National Park** - Washington

The parks are our stark reminder of our commercial impact. The rest of our country outside of the parks is often referred to as “developed”, as if it has grown and matured or evolved while the natural landscape hasn’t. This is a capitalistic scope. It is also important to show these environments to negate the scope of things only being worthwhile to humanity if they are “developed.” These environments connect us to our Mother Earth, and you gotta love your mother, your evolution is more thanks to her than your phone or office building.

Safelight: How does your photography engage with themes of conservation and environmental sustainability in the age of the EPA’s deregulatory measures?

Ella: The EPA has recently faced a massive layoff of employees, funding freezes, and reference removals under the current administration. Lobbyists and the new leader, Lee Zeldin, all appointed by Trump have changed the EPA’s mission completely. The EPA is not only meant to protect the environment (from us, in a check and balances way) but also to protect human health - because the two go hand in hand. A clean and flowing water way also means you have something to drink and eat. A lush forest also means you have better air quality, etc. But now, the EPA is being reframed as an organization that protects the industries that rely on environment like energy and autos.

The psychology behind conservation photography is similar to the way a zoo contributes to conservation. Seeing an exotic animal in a zoo, aka something you would never see outside of your local community, gives you some proof of existence that hopefully inspires care and compassion. That the animal might not be living near you, but your global impact puts you on the same level, and so if you hear about this animal being endangered at some point, hopefully you would be inspired to either change a habit or advocate for a change that helps them thrive again. Seeing these landscapes and the wildlife in them through photography I hope inspires a similar sentiment. If an image of a stunning waterfall helps provide even an ounce of inspiration to #ProtectOutParks, I’ll take it.

Safelight: Do you consider your work as advocacy? If so, how do you balance that with artistic expression?

Ella: Yes I do. When I am in these locations, it’s not just to take a photo -I am speaking with tourists and docents or bringing along folks to share in the beauty and concern for these landscapes. Photography can be very community based, and by definition, is supportive and defensive of its subjects. It feels already balanced in artistic expression, because I am communicating the fact that I love these places. It is intrinsic in the expression that I am advocating for them. The pictures are a plea for you to care about them too.

**Yellowstone National Park** - Wyoming, Montana, Idaho

Safelight: What message or feeling do you hope San Diegans take away from your photography, especially when showcasing local treasures like Torrey Pines Natural Reserve?

Ella: I hope that folks will become more conscious consumers. That they will consider their impact on our local natural landscapes that are increasingly becoming scarce. That they recognize all of the people, like the Kumeyaay, that were here before, caring for this place. That accountability is taken for how it has changed, and following that accountability with reparations, not lead by guilt but by duty to do better.

**Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve** - California

Look up the food you eat and where it comes from. Look up the apps you use and who funds them. Look up the sources of your news and who controls them. All of these return to our Earthly impact. Everything you see in my photos is fragile, and the everyday choices you make will affect it. If you are missing that connection, get outside and create it. Take a hike!