Marsel van Oosten
Marsel van Oosten is a Dutch nature photographer. He currently lives in South Africa, with producer and videographer Daniella Sibbing. Together they run Squiver (www.squiver.com), which offers specialised wildlife and landscape photography tours.
Marsel won the grand title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 for his shot ‘The Golden Couple’. Other awards include International Nature Photographer of the Year (twice), Travel Photographer of the Year and Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Marsel’s images are exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, and have appeared in National Geographic, Audubon and Geo. He is a Nikon Ambassador and one of the nature photographers supporting the New Big 5 project (see page 112). He recently released a short documentary, Dragon Blood: A Photographer’s Journey to Socotra, Yemen, on YouTube.
Instagram: @marselvanoosten
Marsel van Oosten’s 15-year photographic career has been filled with many highlights, with expeditions from Namibia to Norway to Yemen, creatively capturing the natural world, from golden snub-nosed monkeys, lions and polar bears to rock formations and dragon blood trees. Along the way, he’s become the world’s only nature photographer to win the ‘Grand Slam’: the grand titles for Wildlife Photographer of the Year, International Nature Photographer of the Year and Travel Photographer of the Year. “It flew by,” he reflects.
Many of Marsel’s greatest images from the, described as a tribute to Mother Earth. But talking to the Dutch photographer, now 52, there’s a hint of regret that he didn’t start working as a photographer earlier. Marsel initially graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in Rotterdam with a BA in art direction and graphic design, and worked for 15 years as an art director for international ad agencies, winning awards including Gold Lions at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes. His art and design background comes through in his photos, which draw on the motto (often, questionably, credited to Leonardo da Vinci) “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.
