| Photographs from East Africa |
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| Written by Ibnu Pramudya |
| Monday, 30 November 2009 11:57 |
On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa
Nick Brandt depicts the animals of East Africa with an intimacy and artistry unmatched by other photographers who choose wildlife as their subject. He creates these majestic sepia and blue-tone photos contrasting moments of quintessential stillness with bursts of dramatic action by engaging with these creatures on an exceptionally intimate level, without the customary use of a telephoto lens. Evocative of classical art, from dignified portraits to sweeping natural tableaux, Brandt's images artfully and simply capture animals in their natural states of being. With a foreword by Alice Sebold and an introduction by Jane Goodall, On This Earth is a gorgeous portfolio of some of the last wild animals and a heartfelt elegy to a vanishing world. I was privileged to attend a gallery show of Nick Brandt's work during a recent trip to Los Angeles, where I saw an advance copy of this book. Of course, no book can capture the full glory of the photos on the walls, just as no book can capture an artist's colors and brush strokes, but it still remains the most remarkable book of wildlife photography I have ever seen. Initially, I was drawn to the noble poignancy of the cheetahs and lions, but the most unexpectedly beautiful photo - a vision of a lost Eden - was of hippos in a tree-encircled lake. That this is rapidly becoming a lost world is apparent. The photos capture what words cannot, so I won't attempt to describe the beauty, sadness and dignity evoked by these images, except to say that this is a much more than a coffee table book. You will go back to it again and again and feel your own soul expand.
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