Chris Rainier : The Interview

It is only by protecting the protectors can we survive on the planet into the future.

JR: It is hard to decide where to begin when speaking about your work. There is, of course, the inherent beauty of the photographs, the technical development, and your professional pedigree. I spent considerable time in the first installment championing what I felt was your intention and the power of what was revealed in your book MASK. My impression is that you agree, we are not divorced from our embodied spiritual lineages. I gained from your work that the living and endangered cultures and individuals safekeeping these objects and portals to the sacred are a profound reminder of our identities. Identities with which we must not lose touch. 
I know from your own words that ecological devastation and degradation is linked entirely with the cultural genociding of indigenous peoples. Do you see a way for photographers to embrace these concerns, considering their subjects, even if their topics...