Capturing Conservation
Kurt and Edwige Moses, the Photographers Documenting Nature’s Treasures
By Delaney Farwell, Community Forestry Member, Mississippi Park Connection
Left: Kurt
Right: Edwige
Meet Kurt and Edwige Moses. They carry with themselves with a genuine sense of curiosity and wonder at the natural world, and even more importantly, want to document the people who live, work, and play within it. I was able to sit down with them recently and learn more about and from them.
Kurt, who has lived in Minnesota most of his life, has a creative background. He came into photography through the design world. After going to school for design and working in that field for about 15 years, he realized in 2004 that photography was more in his make-up than design. “I've always loved the idea of photography and applying the ideas from graphic design, [like] composition, spatial relationships, things like the rule of thirds, all of that stuff. I caught on pretty quickly and ever since that, [it] has been my passion,” he said.
Edwige has always been aware of photography, but did not originally work in thefield. She is from the small French island of St. Martin in the Caribbean, and when she came to the United States, Kurt was a big inspiration to her as she viewed his work and what he was doing. “When I met Kurt, I saw through his eyes, I saw how he saw simple things in a beautiful way. That really impacted me. It started with a photo that [he] took of me on a beach, where [he] captured a side of me that I'd never seen before. It was candid, it was a beautiful shot. I think throughout the years, I continue to be impacted,” she said.
After she saw how moving photography could be, Edwige started helping Kurt with his work. She would help with gear, interact with the clients, and discuss images with him to define what worked and what didn’t. Eventually, Kurt’s older gear made its way to Edwige so she could begin creating her own vision. She chalks up her introduction to photography to her “love for Kurt and wanting to document the human [experience, but also to] experience things together.”
The decision to work together came naturally to them. Edwige was working in St. Paul at a French immersion school while Kurt was working with his list of local clients on editorial and commercial photography. From the moment they met, they knew they worked really well together. They wanted to work together going forward, but their jobs at the time were causing them to spend a lot of time apart. Edwige’s job became increasingly more demanding, wanting more from her without fair compensation, and Kurt’s gigs were lessening as the economy was worsening. “We decided that if we're going to live like starving artists, we're going to do it on our terms. Together we decided that photography gave us the most freedom to go and shoot because we can be anywhere when we do that, we can choose our clients, we can choose the subject matter,” Kurt said.
In the winter of 2023, they contacted the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and asked if they could join the volunteer program to take photos of events and activities taking place in the park. Since then, they have captured thousands of images of people along the Mississippi River.
While photographing people in parks has been the most fulfilling project they’ve taken on, it was not the first subject matter they were interested in. For Kurt, he started off thinking he wanted to do sports photography because he was drawn to capturing a moment in time. Kurt explained that keeping up with others in sports photography is incredibly expensive because you have to invest in specialized gear. He tried out nature and wildlife photography and enjoyed it, but didn’t find it as engaging.. He then photographed some park events. He enjoyed documenting the people at them, but as an introvert, interacting with them was a bit more tedious. Edwige was a huge help when it came to working with people. She was able to aid Kurt in the acquisition of release forms and the information of the people being photographed. Their interest in working with people in an organic and genuine way led them to volunteer as campground hosts at state parks.
After transitioning to campground hosting in state parks for a while, the couple was faced with getting through the winter. As they live year-round in a small recreational vehicle, they knew they wouldn’t want to spend the winter in Minnesota. The couple then headed to Joshua Tree National Park under the impression they would be campground hosts, but when the park got wind that Kurt was a photographer, they asked him to take some photos for them. The transition to photographing for the National Park Service was pretty natural from there.
From visitors to rangers to scientists, the parks had an incredible variety of people in them doing so many different things andnd it resonated with them because what was happening in the parks was important and aligned with their personal values. They realized their journey to this point completely reflected the work they wanted to do in the National Parks. From their desire to document people and their lifestyles to Edwige’s interpersonal relationship building skills, it all applied.
Joshua Tree had a visual media specialist who understood Kurt and Edwige’s mission. “The department was very, very advanced [at Joshua Tree]. They had a clear idea of what they wanted. And the person at the head had a sensibility to photography They knew that good photography would bring visitors and that was important because they were lacking it in Joshua Tree back then,” Edwige said. They emphasized that the transition from campground host to photographer was almost pure chance and an opportunity to tap into their passions. They have then mostly relied on word of mouth to move around to other parks because they believe in going where their work is understood. “Some of the parks [have] even told us ‘We don't need photography. We don't need photos’. And I think if they say that, then it's best if we don't go because there needs to be an understanding that it's important,” Edwige said.
Kurt and Edwige emphasized that for them to serve in a place, there needs to be a need from the people who live and work there. For example, they love the volcanoes in Hawai’i and the Florida Everglades, but it’s evident from their respective social media accounts that these parks have photographers. “We humble ourselves and instead of saying ‘Where's our favorite park?’ we say ‘Where's there a need?’ Wherever we go, it's about the people. We've had some profound interactions with people that [show that] it doesn't matter where it is. It's about the people,” Kurt said.
The people-focused nature of their work was something that was obviously deeply important to them. Their most memorable experiences are centered around the people they work with, and they have found it hard not to bond deeply with specific parks because of the people within them. “Every time we come into a new park and then leave that park, we feel [as if it’s] unfinished business. We feel like we've formed relationships with these people. We were close to them, we’ve documented them. We’ve got this intimacy in doing that and telling their story and then it becomes your favorite experience,” Kurt said. It’s a never-ending occurrence of not knowing how one park will top the next, and then the next park doing just that.
Due to her volunteer work, Edwige believes that it is such a privilege to get to see the parts of the parks that most people don’t. She recalls that when they photographed Outer Banks, she felt a deep sense of privilege in getting to stand on a pristine beach and witness its expansive beauty. Her first National Park was Badlands, which Kurt brought her to in 2006. “I brought her to the edge of the formations, got out of the car, and she was silent. So I kind of looked around to the front to see what's going on. I thought [she would be like,] ‘What am I doing here?’ But a tear was coming down her cheek and I was like, oh, she's gonna be my wife,” Kurt said.
That moment opened up a whole new world for Edwige. She continues to experience profoundly positive emotions whenever she is in these parks. “It really calls [to the] little child inside [of me] that loves to explore. I've always been like that, with a flashlight, anytime [I’m] in the natural world. In the Badlands, I felt like that child. I just want to explore,” she said. Their passion and love for parks and the people within them are evident in their work, and they bring this sense of wonder with them to each park they serve in.
Kurt and Edwige’s involvement in National Parks has influenced their message and thus changed it over time. They originally wanted to showcase the beauty of nature so that others could see how precious it is, and that it should be protected. “It's kind of evolved [from that] because now, [I’m trying to tell the story of] the people that actually work to protect and serve. They're the real story. Nature, you can go online and you can see amazing photography by nature photographers, wildlife photographers, but it's only a few that you see that they're actually documenting the people that are [doing the work to preserve it],” Kurt said. Edwige included that for the people running the parks, “their work is basically not noticed as much because they work early in the morning, leave in the evening, and no one knows what it takes.”
Their people-focused philosophy is a driving force behind their work and has opened up how they do photography and how they want to influence people. Kurt said that a major priority for him is to “capture the landscape and to give it context, but then to focus on those people that are there doing the work. And that's really important to us and I find that really fulfilling.” They also want to bring a level of curiosity and humility to their work, as they believe that they are “not just photographers in a space. We're learning continuously. We're always learning something and it's always better to be asking about people and what they're doing and how they function, rather than to sit in the background,” Kurt said.
Edwige wants their message to be one of humanity and to encourage others to realize how much of it exists in each other. “I think [this work] helps to humanize humans, because I think people lose touch with what a human is and so they lose touch with their emotions too. And so when they see the photo, they start feeling respect for what others do. Maybe empathy, maybe kindness, maybe they become more tolerant. Maybe through understanding, they will become more patient,” she said. Kurt added that “The reality is we can get along with just about anybody in spite of a lot of differences, but are we giving ourselves the opportunity to do that? My hope is that the work will inspire people to ultimately be stewards of this earth, to see how beautiful it is and to see people for how beautiful they are, and think about being an advocate for anything that you find important. Yes, go out and get active in doing it. You don't make any money volunteering. But that's not the point.”
While this work is deeply people and mission focused, it does not come without some challenges. Kurt and Edwige describe the challenges they face as mostly physical, as they work in extreme environments. It does not matter if it’s heat, cold, or wet, they are out photographing as long as people are out in the park. They have to keep up with conditioned hikers and wildfire crews who have fire retardant clothing and gear on while they do not. Kurt mentioned that in Joshua Tree, he didn’t bring any sunglasses because it was winter, but quickly realized that even the desert in winter reflected a lot of light. Their trailer lacks a bathroom, so they have to coordinate with maintenance crews or other facilities workers to use actual indoor plumbing. As they are also unpaid volunteers without regular income, they sometimes don’t have very much to eat or have to prioritize between gas for their car or food.
The challenges do not deter them from their work, they are playing a key role in park function and the appreciation of the people who work or volunteer in these parks. They hope that the people who view their photography will be inspired to take action in their own local parks. “I would hope that through people getting as intimate as we have been with the environment, that that story can inspire them to do something as well. It's not about being visually close to the subject or further away. It's about the way you shoot it to get people engaged. And that's how I was inspired. We’ve been more prolific with the works we've done for the parks than what we've done in our private business. And that does not mean that it wasn't important what we were doing there. It just means that we have really opened up and found our place in doing volunteer work. [We hope to] move people to take action and to find their own cause. But also consider that it's not about the money. It really isn't about the money. We're actually capturing people in the available light, at that moment. Nothing is staged,” Kurt said.
Kurt and Edwige’s future may begin to look a little different from what they’ve been doing for the last ten years. They are currently serving Kurt’s mother, a special woman to them both, which has been keeping them closer to the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Having a familial tie to the Twin Cities has meant they may not be able to pick up their lives and go work in a park for three months, but they hope to make it to other locations for short stints in other parks. They are open to priorities shifting and then adapting to whatever opportunities they may be offered. When looking towards the future, they are also keen to start disseminating their knowledge and passing on what they have learned. Edwige has been journaling about their everyday lives since 2013, and they hope to incorporate a teaching aspect in their work to go along with their field work so that others can get engaged and learn how they’ve done what they’ve done.
All in all, it has been a great privilege to have Kurt and Edwige serving us in our park. They are both such wonderful people, and being able to have this conversation with them was a really enlightening experience. Volunteers like Kurt and Edwige are a huge part of what makes the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area everything that it is, and their desire to humanize and connect with others is something that we all can aspire to embody ourselves. Their story helps to tell the stories of the national parks, and encourages us all to look and listen to each other a little bit closer. If you see them at any upcoming events, please make sure to say hi and thank them for all that they have done!