In one of the displays was a book with a black and white photo of a beautiful elephant throwing sand over her back. This book has since become my inspiration and something that i aspire to.
The book was called ON THIS EARTH and was a beautiful hardback bound 132 page book of quite simply stunning photos.The Book was by a Photographer called Nick Brandt. My Fiance bought me the book when she saw the sparkle in my eye knowing how much i love wildlife.
The book now takes pride of place on my coffee table and is a constant reminder of where one day i would like to be in terms of my photography. Many MrShutterbug fans will notice that i very rarely post Black and White pictures.... the reason is quite simple i don't think i could ever do the animals justice like Nick Brandt.
Sadly It now appears that many of the subjects in this book especially the Elephants are dead. This is due to poaching.But in a very short space of time, most of the large-tusked elephants featured in his books have been killed by poachers for their ivory.
Since 2008, there has been a huge increase in demand from China and the Far East for ivory, and as a result, elephants are being wiped out at an alarming rate. The numbers are apocalyptic : it’s estimated that as many as 35,000 elephants are being poached a year, 10% of the entire population of Africa's elephants each year alone.
And it’s not just elephants. The lions are being poisoned at an incredible rate too. It’s become so bad that there are next to no lions left outside the national parks in Kenya. Giraffes are also being killed at a faster rate for bush meat. There are even contracts out on zebras, as their skins are the latest fad in Asia.
This sad news was pointed out to me by another photographer Tom Hadley from Hadley Wildlife http://www.hadleywildlife.org.uk/ who also shares in the inspiration that Nicks books offer.
Its is a great shame that the animals that i and other Photographers be they professional or Amateur yearn to photograph are being killed.
It strikes me that China and Asia have a constant theme in my recent blogs, and that is because they are the beneficiaries of poaching and usually the instigators. Animals seem to be worth more dead than alive.
I wanted this post to highlight a source of inspiration and share with my fans the book and photographer which has given me this inspiration.
Sadly it seems i have once again had to resort to talking about the needless death of the wildlife that we all love and cherish. As humans we have an inbuilt instinct to constantly want more, it seems that inbuilt instinct is the main reason many species find them selves in the predicament they are now in.
Please visit Nicks Website learn about the elephants and other animals and about the crime that is being committed.
http://www.nickbrandt.com/
Rant Over
