Human nature
In the past few years there has been a growing trend for nature and conservation photographers to join forces and use the collective power of their imagery to attempt to influence key decision-makers around the world. The group Photographers Against Wildlife Crime immediately springs to mind and one of the latest projects in a similar vein sees the photographic work and stories of 12 top photographers – Joel Sartore, Paul Nicklen, Ami Vitale, Brent Stirton, Frans Lanting, Brian Skerry, Tim Laman, Cristina Mittermeier, J Henry Fair, Richard John Seymour, George Steinmetz and Steve Winter – featured in the book Human Nature: Planet Earth In Our Time.
As well as showcasing sensational imagery of the natural world the book focuses on core issues such as climate change, biodiversity and the extent to which the behaviour of the human race has negatively impacted the Earth’s environment. To get an insider’s view of the motivations and issues involved we spoke to the renowned visual storyteller Frans Lanting, who has, for many years, been one of the world’s most celebrated nature and wildlife photographers.
Even though he has lived in the USA for several decades Lanting’s Dutch accent – he was born in Rotterdam – remains strong as he talks to AP down a phone line from his home in Santa Cruz, California. He recalls, ‘In my previous career as an environmental economist my interest was to come up with methodologies for quantifying the value of nature and the impact of human activities on nature. I changed careers and became a photographer because I felt that I could become more effective using a camera as a tool than by writing reports. I have always looked at the world of nature and the world of so-called nature and wildlife
