UPDATE 02/28/2021: We officially released MEET BOB on January 26th, 2021 and books are now available.
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Who is Bob?
Through my first book "MEET BOB", I provide an exclusive look into the colourful life of Bob. Bob enjoys breakfasts of caviar, dips in his own saltwater pool, and biweekly foot massages on the beach. A charmed life, perhaps, but he deserves it: Bob spends much of his time interacting with school children on his home island Curaçao. He is an emissary for conservation.
Bob, you see, is a flamingo.
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Veterinarian Odette Doest rescued Bob in 2016, after he had slammed into a hotel window. While rehabilitating the bird at her nonprofit wildlife sanctuary, Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben (Foundation for Animals and Education in the Caribbean), Odette discovered that not only did the flamingo have a concussion and an injured left wing, but, he had previously been domesticated. Bob was too relaxed around people; he also suffered from bumblefoot, a chronic foot disease common in captive birds, which would impair his ability to catch food in the wild.
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Because of his injuries, Odette decided to keep Bob as an educational animal at her sanctuary. When she started taking him on her foundation’s weekly visits to schools and community gathering spots on the Dutch Caribbean isle, the flamingo became an instant celebrity. Bob's fame now helps Odette tell a larger story: the duo work together to make people more aware of environmental issues in the Caribbean.
Why this book?
For me, the story of Bob is very personal.
MEET BOB is not ‘just a book.’ It’s a fundraising campaign for conservation, and you get the book for free.
My father was born on Curaçao, a relatively small island North of Venezuela. He moved to The Netherlands when he was a little boy, where I was born and raised. It took me 27 years before I visited my father’s birthplace. I don’t know exactly why...
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During my late teens I developed a close relationship with my cousin Odette. She was studying at the Faculty of Veterinary Practices in Utrecht and I was interested in photography. She would visit our home with stories and pictures of wildlife in the Peruvian jungle. When I finally visited her during the summer of 2006, I remember noticing how much we have in common. While she would visit us visit every year in NL, it took me another 10 years before I would visit her again. Again, I don't know why...
When I visited Curacao again in 2016, Odette had just rescued a flamingo. He couldn’t be released back to the wild; he was a relaxed, chill being, and we named him Bob. On the second day of my visit, as the bedside clock was changing to 7:00 am, Bob’s head peaked through the door to my room — it was in the early hours of that morning, our photographic journey began. Little did we both know how many lives would positively be affected by our actions.
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On the final day of my last visit, I joined Bob for a swim in the crystal clear waters surrounding the island. As I swam back to beach to call it a day and head to the airport, I looked back at the odd couple bobbing at sea. They live a remarkable life together, although, to them it’s just their daily life. To me, their story is an intimate love story about how two individuals, that depend on each other, initiate positive change by educating future generations. And, even though I’d rather see Bob return to the wild, it’s good to know that together with Odette he’s able to make a real difference. It's been a year now since I've visited them and I miss them dearly. This time, I do know why ❤️.
The story of Bob and Odette has been well received in the media through a large variety of international magazine publications. Bob’s story was celebrated in the 2019 World Press Photo contest, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Pictures of the Year International and the Sony World Photography Awards. In 2020, Bob proudly graced the pages of National Geographic Magazine.
People from all over the world have reached out to us on how much they appreciate Odette's work and how she is a role model for many. While all the acknowledgements have been heart warming, I have personally wanted to do something more for Odette, for Bob, and for wildlife conservation in the Caribbean. As the island of Curaçao holds the roots to my heritage, MEET BOB is my tribute to my own history, a celebration of the color in my life and my small contribution to the island's future.
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Odette’s wildlife rescue work is completely self-funded through her income as a veterinarian. When an injured wild animal is brought into FDOC, Odette pays for all of their care out of her own pocket. Therefore, I have decided that all revenues of this book will be donated to the conservation and education work of FDOC, so that we can all help support the important conservation work of FDOC.
This book is an opportunity for me to help someone who tries to make this world a better place. This book celebrates Bob and Odette. Their story is a reminder that individual actions, driven by love and empathy, can have an enormous positive impact on the world around us. Never would I have thought about doing a story about a family member, but it's proves this power lives in all of us; compassion and empathy as the starting point of positive change. Something this world needs, more than ever.
This book is MY way of giving back.
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MEET BOB possible cover mock-up
Supporting this book and FDOC
Your support will make this publication a reality and will help FDOC to continue their rescue, rehabilitation and education plan.
NOTEWORTHY BOOK SPECS:
- Portrait Format - 234x325x14mm
- 88 pages
- Approximately 80 images
- 5-color printing + 1 PMS color to create the beautiful vibrant color palette in print
- Hard cover, sewn binding
- Printed on sustainably sourced paper
- Estimated arrival December 2020
- Special limited handbound edition will be available
When you purchase your copy of MEET BOB or one of our other perks, you’ll be helping us to reach our crowdfunding goal of €25.000 EUR. Our funding tiers start with the support of FDOC and end with a limited edition copy of MEET BOB including three hand signed fine art prints.
Our costs include:
- Printing! When we meet our goal we'll be printing 3.000 copies of this hard cover first edition.
- Book packaging and shipping
- Distribution
- Advertising and PR
- Travel costs and overhead for conferences to present the book globally in 2021.
- The people working on this book: the time of the co-editors, the designer, the colour editor, the project manager.
- Biweekly foot massages on the beach to keep Flamingo Bob satisfied.
MEET BOB will be published by LIMOSA. As a result, any profit from MEET BOB will go directly into funding the work of FDOC.
The Impact
Meet Bob is an intimate love story about compassion and empathy. More specifically about how two individuals, that depend on each other, initiate positive change by educating future generations.
I hope you'll order your copy of MEET BOB, and share this campaign. In doing so, you will be helping us produce, print, and distribute this hardcover first edition of MEET BOB. This is your chance to help the rescue and rehabilitation of many wild animals in the Caribbean while at the same time educate both children and adults about the importance of protecting the Caribbean wildlife. Let's help Bob to make this world a better place.
Thank you in advance!
Your's sincerely,
Jasper Doest
P.S. We are working very hard to ship your order in time. However, COVID19 currently has a big impact on postal services world wide. Thank you for understanding and your support.
About the photographer
Dutch photographer Jasper Doest creates visual stories that explore the relationship between humankind and nature. Having majored in ecology, Doest knows human life depends on everything our planet has to offer, yet he recognizes the unsustainable nature of the current human patterns of consumption. As a true believer in the power of photography to initiate change, Doest is an International League of Conservation Photographers senior fellow and a World Wildlife Fund ambassador. He is also a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine and has received awards from World Press Photo and Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
