Africa

               The majority of this article is an interview describing why and how he got the idea and accomplished these photographs. He [ Nick Brandt ] explains his inspiration and subjects for his photos, telling the interviewer { and reader } that he wanted to show people the luxurious habitat that these beautiful  creatures live in. I specifically lived his reasons for which to do this and I loved how all of his colors were in black and white. It seems to give the photos more depth.
         
              This photograph shows a silverback gorilla looking off into the distance as it emerges from the depths of the jungle. I like this photograph because of the somewhat hopeful look in his eyes. Some evident rules in this photograph are simplicity, avoiding mergers, fill the frame and framing. Simplicity because it is obvious that the gorilla is the main subject, Avoiding Mergers because of the leaves surrounding the subject, Fill the Frame because the gorilla takes up most to all of the photo and finally, Framing because the leaves create a natural frame around the gorilla.

               He [ Nick Brandt ] uses a Pentax 67II with two fixed lenses because he believes that being so close to animals can make a huge difference depending on the type of camera and lenses that you use. He wrote; "You wouldn't take a portrait of a human being from a hundred feet away and expect to capture their spirits; you'd move in close."

               His reasoning for taking these photos is that he wants to show the world the beauty behind the creatures that live amongst us. He wants to make sure we see how these animals live their lives every day, just as we would, but he wants us to also see their beauty in their natural habitat of the wild. His hope, by taking these photos, is to try and convince us not to harm these creatures just as we wish for them not to harm us. We shouldn't be any higher up on the food chain just because we can't help but ruin the lives of creatures different than ourselves.

               He [ Nick Brandt ] has many things to say about his journey and exploration of Africa, but my favorite thing that he says about Africa probably has to be his motivation, his inspiration. In my opinion, I believe that it's just as beautiful as the photos he had taken. "There is something profoundly iconic, mythological even, about the animals of East and Southern Africa. There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains...punctuated by the graphically perfect acacia trees under the huge skies...This world is under a terrible threat, all of it is caused by us."
( Nick Brandt, October 2nd, 2009 )