At Safelight’s Studio, Merlin Mendoza’s ‘Lifer’ Gallery Show took Flight

May 15

Wildlife film photographer and birder Merlin Mendoza is the real-life embodiment of Ash Ketchum, the fabled protagonist from the enduring Pokémon franchise. Rather than wielding a pokéball to “catch them all,” Mendoza relies on his manual Canon SLRs to catalog his feathered findings with his own version of the “National Pokédex .”

His interactive gallery show Lifer, held at the studio space within Safelight Labs from April 25 to May 1, invited visitors to immerse themselves in San Diego County’s diverse avian biomes through his photography. Featuring 81 unique species of birds and other fauna, the exhibition showcased images captured primarily on film and photographed ethically across the region’s vast landscapes - from the rolling chaparral hills that blanket the coastal sprawl; to the salt marshes and kelp forests bordering the Pacific Ocean in the west; the oak woodlands surrounding Mount Laguna in the east; and the arid expanses of Anza-Borrego Desert.

Inspired by the seismic scope of Jacob Koopman’s Processed: Normal Heights and Ethan Dow’s Separate Ways gallery shows, he empowered guests to embody the spirit of a “lifer” - a birding term for the first confirmed sighting and positive identification a specific species of bird in the wild.

The exhibition became a sensory plunge into ornithology, encouraging attendees to download the Merlin Bird ID application by Cornell Lab to listen for pre-recorded bird calls projected throughout the space and identify distinct species using a randomized checklist.

With artificial turf underfoot, toy 3D viewfinders flickering with avian slides, and binoculars at the ready, the exhibition unfolded as a living diorama of San Diego’s biodiversity - attracting visitors to deepen their knowledge and appreciation for the wild world around them.

To coincide with the gallery, Merlin released his zine Plot, a visual study of the community garden at Tijuana River Valley Regional Park - the largest of its kind in the county. He encountered the site while searching near the Tijuana Estuary for the black-throated magpie-jay; and felt compelled to document the land when it faced an uncertain future before it was guaranteed preservation in November.

Keeping with the plot, his gallery show and zine release was a testament to his insatiable curiosity and ambition to draw attention to the naturals wonders in our backyard. It was an artistic endeavor aimed to cultivate a shared understanding and adoration of birds, and the ecosystems they inhabit.

As a wildlife photographer with a conservationist mindset and a birding advocate working alongside the San Diego Bird Alliance, Merlin Mendoza’s Lifer was destined to take flight and reach new heights in its public debut.