Giraffes in Evening Light, Maasai Mara 2006
Elephant Exodus #2, Amboseli 2004
Abandoned Ostrich Egg
Buffalo With Lowered Head
Elephant Herds Crossing Lake Bed in Sun D
Elephant with Tattered Ears
Elephants Moving Through Grass
Elephants on Bleached Lake Bed
Giraffes and Dust Devil
Giraffes Battling in Forest
Giraffes with Migration Trail
Gorilla On Rock
Lion CU Portrait
Lion Under Leaning Tree
Lion with Monolith
Lions Head to Head
Rhino on Lake
Rhinos in Lake
Lion Before Storm II- Sitting Profile
Zebras Turning Heads
Cheetah and Cubs
Wildebeest Crossing
Lioness Against Rock
Baboons in Profile
Hippos on Mara River
Elephant With Exploding Dust
Elephant Exodus
Cheetah and Cubs Lying on Rock
Lion Windswept
Sitting Lionesses
Cheetah in Tree
Giraffe Fan
Elephant Mother and Two Babies
Elephant Herd
Buffalo Group Portrait
Portrait of Lion Standing in Wind
Giraffes Under Swirling Clouds
Chimp Portrait With Hand II
Lioness with Cub Feeding
Lioness Looking Out Over Plains
Giraffe Looking Over Plains
Lioness In Crater
Leopard in Crook of Tree
Elephant Mother and Baby Holding Leg
Chimpanzee Posing
Elephant Ghost World
Rhino in Dust
Elephant Cathedral
Giraffe and Baby in Trees
Elephant Drinking
About Nick BrandtBrandt's first book of photographs, "On This Earth", was published in October 2005, by Chronicle Books, with forewords by Jane Goodall and Alice Sebold (author of "The Lovely Bones"). He has had numerous one-man exhibitions between 2004 and 2006, including London, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Hamburg, Santa Fe, Sydney, Melbourne and San Francisco. He now lives in Topanga, California....
Few photographers have ever considered the photography of wild animals, as distinctly opposed to the genre of Wildlife Photography, as an art form. The emphasis has generally been on capturing the drama of wild animals IN ACTION, on capturing that dramatic single moment, as opposed to simply animals in the state of being. I’ve always thought this something of a wasted opportunity.
The wild animals of Africa lend themselves to photographs that extend aesthetically beyond the norm of 35mm-color telephoto wildlife photography. And so it is, that in my own way, I would like to yank the subject matter of wildlife into the arena of fine art photography. To take photographs that transcend what has been a largely documentative genre. Aside from using certain impractical photographic techniques, there’s one thing I do whilst shooting that I believe makes a big difference:
I get extremely close to these very wild animals, often within a few feet of them. I don’t use telephoto lenses. This is because I want to see as much of the sky and landscape as possible--to see the animals within the context of their environment. That way, the photos become as much about the atmosphere of the place as the animals. And being that close to the animals, I get a real sense of intimate connection to them, to the specific animal in front of me. Sometimes a deliberate feeling that they’re almost presenting themselves for a studio portrait.
Why the animals of Africa in particular? And more particularly still, East Africa? There is perhaps something more profoundly iconic, mythical, mythological even, about the animals of East Africa, as opposed to say, the Arctic or South America. There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains of Africa – the vast green rolling plains punctuated by the graphically perfect acacia trees. My images are unashamedly idyllic and romantic, a kind of enchanted Africa. They’re my elegy to a world that is steadily, tragically vanishing.
http://www.nickbrandt.comndt
http://www.nickbrandt.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment