“Natural History is a practice of focused, intentional attentiveness to the more than human world, guided by honesty and accuracy,” says Tom Fleischner, a principal investigator for the Natural History Initiative. But during a series of workshops dedicated to the rebirth of natural history, it became clear that the practice means something slightly different to everyone. The Natural Histories Project celebrates this diversity of definitions, and roots an ancient practice firmly in modern times. It consists of 99 recorded conversations, combined with intimate portraits, in an interactive web platform.

The Natural History Initiative held four workshops dedicated to re-imagining natural history in 2011, and we were asked to help bring these discussions to a larger audience. At each workshop, we set up a recording booth where pairs of participants could sit down to ask questions, share ideas and tell stories. After each conversation, we made black and white portraits of the pairs and individuals. The results are featured on a website where users can explore excerpts by theme, participant or keyword. We exhibited a series of broadsides from this project at the Ecological Society of America’s annual conference and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.