“Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who captures breathtaking images that celebrate life — revealing connections, universal rhythms, patterns and beauty.
Louis Schwartzberg’s notable career spans feature films, television shows, commercials and documentaries. He won two Clio Awards for TV advertising, including best environmental broadcast spot, an Emmy nomination for best cinematography and the Heartland Film Festival’s Truly Moving Picture Award for the feature film “America’s Heart & Soul.” Schwartzberg founded Moving Art to use the power of media to inspire and entertain through television programming, DVD products, and full-length motion picture and IMAX films. His new film “Wings of Life” will be released by Disneynature.
Nature’s beauty can be easily missed — but not through Louie Schwartzberg’s lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day. (Filmed at TEDxSF.)” SOURCE
When I graduated UCLA, I moved to northern California,and I lived in a little town called Elkon the Mendocino coast,and I didn’t have a phone or TV, but I had U.S. mail,and life was good back then, if you could remember it.I’d go to the general store for a cup of coffeeand a brownie, and I’d ship my filmto San Francisco, and lo and behold, two days later,it would end up on my front door,which was way better than having to fight the trafficof Hollywood. (Music)I didn’t have much money,but I had time and a sense of wonder. (Music)
So I started shooting time-lapse photography.It would take me a month to shoot a four-minuteroll of film, because that’s all I could afford.
I’ve been shooting time-lapse flowers continuously,non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,for over 30 years, and to see them moveis a dance I’ll never get tired of.Their beauty immerses us with color, taste, touch.It also provides a third of the food we eat.(Music)Beauty and seduction is nature’s tools for survival,because we protect what we fall in love with.It opens our hearts, and makes us realizewe are a part of nature and we’re not separate from it.When we see ourselves in nature, it also connects usto every one of us, because it’s clearthat it’s all connected in one.
When people see my images, a lot of times they’ll say,”Oh my God.” Have you ever wondered what that meant?The “oh” means it caught your attention,makes you present, makes you mindful.The “my” means it connects with something deepinside your soul.It creates a gateway for your inner voice to rise upand be heard. And “God”?God is that personal journey we all want to be on,to be inspired, to feel like we’re connected to a universethat celebrates life.
Did you know that 80 percentof the information we receive comes through our eyes?And if you compare light energy to musical scales,it would only be one octave that the naked eye could see,which is right in the middle?And aren’t we grateful for our brains that can, you know,take this electrical impulse that comes from light energyto create images in order for us to explore our world?And aren’t we grateful that we have heartsthat can feel these vibrationsin order for us to allow ourselves to feel the pleasureand the beauty of nature?(Music)
Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivatesappreciation and gratitude.(Music)So I have a gift I want to share with you today,a project I’m working on called Happiness Revealed,and it’ll give us a glimpse into that perspectivefrom the point of view of a child and an elderly manof that world.
Child: When I watch TV,it’s just some shows that you just — that are pretend,and when you explore, you getmore imagination than you already had,and when you get more imagination,it makes you want to go deeper inso you can get more and see beautifuller things,like the path, if it’s a path, it could lead you to a beach,or something, and it could be beautiful.(Music)
Elderly Man: You think this is just another day in your life?It’s not just another day. It’s the one day that is given to youtoday.It’s given to you. It’s a gift.It’s the only gift that you have right now,and the only appropriate responseis gratefulness.If you do nothing else but to cultivate that responseto the great gift that this unique day is,if you learn to respondas if it were the first day in your lifeand the very last day,then you will have spent this day very well.
Begin by opening your eyes and be surprisedthat you have eyes you can open,that incredible array of colors that is constantly offered to usfor pure enjoyment.Look at the sky.We so rarely look at the sky.We so rarely note how different it isfrom moment to moment, with clouds coming and going.We just think of the weather,and even with the weather, we don’t think ofall the many nuances of weather.We just think of good weather and bad weather.This day, right now, has unique weather,maybe a kind that will never exactlyin that form come again.That formation of clouds in the sky will never be the sameas it is right now.Open your eyes. Look at that.
Look at the faces of people whom you meet.Each one has an incredible story behind their face,a story that you could never fully fathom,not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors.We all go back so far,and in this present moment, on this day,all the people you meet, all that life from generationsand from so many places all over the worldflows together and meets you herelike a life-giving water, if you only open your heart and drink.(Music)
Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilizationgives to us.You flip a switch and there is electric light.You turn a faucet and there is warm water and cold water,and drinkable water.It’s a gift that millions and millions in the worldwill never experience.
So these are just a few of an enormous number of giftsto which we can open your heart.And so I wish you that you will open your heartto all these blessings, and let them flow through you,that everyone whom you will meet on this daywill be blessed by you,just by your eyes,by your smile,by your touch,just by your presence.Let the gratefulness overflowinto blessing all around you,and then it will really be a good day. (Music)
(Applause)
Louie Schwartzberg: Thank you.Thank you very much. (Applause)
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