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Do you wonder about the world of animals and nature, and how you can learn more about it? Many of us resort to our cameras to catch hold of a wondrous moment we are delighted to witness. When it comes to photography, one of the most challenging aspects of it is wildlife photography. If you wish to pursue it as a profession, it is really important to first practise, practise, practise… before you get that perfect shot!
For a wildlife enthusiast, being able to capture wildlife in a picture is a remarkable achievement in itself. The moment a camera is in your hand, the only thought is to get the animal in the best frame at the right time. But remember, animals in the wild are unpredictable, and so are their movements.
There are many factors that come into play for a photographer who ventures into the animals’ habitat. Apart from being observant about animal movements, it is also the weather, the environment, the lighting and one’s own patience that counts. While photographing the wild, one is bound to learn how to be patient and calm, and most of all, value each mistake as a learning.
Starting point
Wildlife photography is a great way to connect with the wild. To become a professional photographer, here are some of the first essential steps to take:
Develop your skills: Start off by taking pictures of still life, trees, people, landscape and everything around you that you find interesting. This helps to explore the different features that your camera has, and how to best capture your subject in a frame. If you’re using a digital camera, familiarise yourself with editing softwares to further enhance the captured photograph.
Start with birds: Wildlife photography involves taking pictures of the wild in their natural habitat. It is unquestionably the most dynamic space to be within, and requires the utmost attention and speed to capture an animal in action. One can cultivate these skills by beginning with backyard bird photography. Observing birds and their behaviour and practising taking pictures of them can build confidence as well as a flair for photography.
Attend workshops: Tutorials, guides and information on photography can be found everywhere around us, both online and offline! Attending different workshops is sure to hone your skills. Listening to the first-hand experiences of professional photographers can help you find your own creative path within this industry.
Patience is the key: While there is a lot to learn from various textual sources and academic courses on photography, the single most significant asset that every wildlife photographer requires is patience. The jungle is full of surprises, as a wildlife explorer, nature walker and even a bird watcher would tell you, but it takes a lot of will, time and dedication before one witnesses the results of their effort. Sitting in one place for hours only to get a glimpse of a big cat is an earnest commitment.
Get to know the wild: Reading about the wild destination, its climate, and the various flora and fauna species that are likely to be found there is crucial before one reaches the spot to get some shots. Knowing about animal behaviour and making sure that routine activities of wild animals are never disturbed during photography sessions form ethical foundations for wildlife photography. Whether it is a forest or a sanctuary, we must know the guidelines that need to be strictly followed within these areas. It is also necessary to be aware of what one can do in case of an unexpected close encounter with a wild animal.
Wildlife photography is applauded and appreciated in its entirety only when it is done ethically. It is therefore necessary to know and follow an ethical code of conduct while photographing animals. Wildlife photography involves going into the homes of animals, and we must remain sensitive and respectful of them.
While we fulfil our dream to capture and showcase photographs from the wild, we also carry a responsibility of sharing valuable knowledge on the subjects of our pictures. Wildlife photographers continue to play a huge role in conserving wild animals and their natural habitat.
On the occasion of Nature Photography Day, we encourage those who aim to take up wildlife photography with passion and curiosity. To this end, Wildlife SOS has invited entries for a photography contest on the theme of “Urban Wildlife”. To know more, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Grand Canyon Photography Club has announced the winners of its juried competition show and display, currently at the Gmeiner Arts and Cultural Center, Wellsboro until June 25.
This year’s awards featured six categories. Twenty members presented 73 entries to the independent judges. The judges reported afterwards that this photo display is one of the best they have ever judged.
This year’s winner’s list includes many new members of the club as well as members who have been mainstays in the organization. Each of the winners received a custom embroidered patch of the club’s logo.
The complete winners list follows:
The Grand Canyon Photography Club was founded with the help of Art and Christine Heiny and has been active for over 20 years. Members meet the second Tuesday of the month at the Gmeiner Arts and Cultural Center. Its purpose is to advance the art of photography among its members, develop their photography skills, and promote photography as an enjoyable recreational experience.
The photo club always welcomes new members. Congratulations to all members whose prints were accepted into the show. The next club photography show is scheduled for summer 2025.
Art Basel, the queen of all art fairs, returns to Basel from 15 to 18 June, hosting over 200 galleries from all over the world. Since 1970 Art Basel has been attracting collectors, gallery owners, artists and insiders, reconfirming itself every year as one of the nerve centres of the international art world.
With more than 4,000 artists, this year’s selection is broad and heterogeneous, but the Unlimited section is certainly the most striking. In fact, since 1999 the fair has reserved a special place for large-scale works that are impossible to install in standard booths. Large sculptures, vast installations, live performances and video projections enliven this side of the fair, which this year becomes the number one protagonist on social media. Interactivity, gigantism and lighting effects are complicit in this year’s success of Unlimited, which had lost some of its “wow” effect in recent years.
Today we show you the 8 projects that intrigued us the most, both from an aesthetic and content point of view.
#1 Environnement Chromointerférent by Carlos Cruz-Diez (Galleria Continua)
Carlos Cruz-Diez‘s is undoubtedly the most instagrammed installation of the fair, thanks to its playful interactivity with the public and the coloured lights. Galleria Continua chose the work of the colour theorist par excellence, which after years still remains incredibly topical. The work was in fact created in 1974 by the Venezuelan artist, who passed away in 2019.
#2 Relocation, Among Other Things by Khalil Rabah (Sfeir-Semler Gallery)
The work by Palestinian artist Khalil Rabah addresses the theme of nomadism, referring in particular to exile and flight in a context of war. The work, presented by the Sfeir-Semler Gallery, is constantly in transformation, adapting itself to the host space from time to time. In this way, the artist creates a parallelism between the work and nomadic life, condemned to constant displacement.
#3 Topa by Jason Rhoades (Hauser & Wirth)
Jason Rhoades’ work is also all the rage on social media. In recent years, neon has made a big comeback in international exhibitions and is once again the material of choice for many artists. Rhoades has always included it in his work, which focuses on the use of light. Topa is from 2005 and derives from the larger work My Medinah, In pursuit of my ermitage… presenting a selection of terms describing the female genital.
#4 Dust 002 by Wu Chi-Tsung (Sean Kelly)
The magical effect of the work by Wu Chi-Tsung, born in 1981 in Tapei, comes from a combination of light, dust and projection. By means of a live feed, a camera positioned in front of an object that partially blocks the light, captures the dust floating in the room. The captured image is then enlarged and projected onto a LED wall. The artist’s intention is to investigate how technology filters our perception of the world.
#5 Tightrope 4 by Elias Sime (James Cohan Gallery)
Elias Sime – born in ’68 and based in Addis Ababa – produces large-scale works, reflecting on components such as electrical wires, microchips and computer hardware. Sime speaks of tightropes, referring to the fine balance between technology and human interaction. It all began in 2009 when the artist focused on the art of assemblage and architectural installations from his home country of Ethiopia. The work on show at Art Basel presented by the James Cohan Gallery, Tightrope 4, only reflects his distinctive mark and remains one of Unlimited’s most interesting works.
#6 Never Again by Monica Bonvicini (Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Galerie Krinzinger, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery)
With this interactive installation, Monica Bonvicini explores the relationship between spaces and human behaviour, highlighting how the environment predominantly influences human actions. The installation, set in the aseptic environment of the fairground, is stark and rigid, especially the large number of chains swinging in the space. The work is dated 2005 and incorporates research into psychoanalysis and sexuality.
#7 Čiurlionis Gym by Augustas Serbians (Apalazzo Gallery)
Čiurlionis Gym by Augustas Serbians is presented as a gymnasium. The artist returns to his school archives to make copies of her remodelled plaster works, which are then used as weights to be lifted. The work focuses on the premises of an art education that many times relies on copying, a fitting comparison to that of the gymnasium. In both cases it is based on repetitive actions and hard work. Serapinas’ installation not only pleasantly surprises patrons but also makes them reflect on a system that needs to be increasingly questioned.
#8 Laporello by Ursula Reuter Christiansen (Von Bartha Gallery)
The characters condensed in Laporello – Ursula Reuter Christiansen‘s installation – have a powerful story, united in an intimate moment. They all act as representatives of their generation, with each panel telling the story of courage, survival and power. As a whole, Reuter Christiansen’s brushstrokes, presented by the von Bartha Gallery, reflect sensual demonstrations of the German artist’s inner being.
Find out more about Unlimited on Art Basel‘s website
Courtesy Art Basel
In times gone by, photography was marginalised at Art Basel—quite literally. The stands orbiting the Rundhof courtyard have always been packed full of painting. But almost all of the camera-based art was siloed into a corner of the main fair or, latterly, packed off to the smaller fringe event of Photo Basel, situated offsite at Volkshaus Basel.
With the exception of a few mainstays of classic Modern photography, like San Francisco’s Fraenkel Gallery and New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery, few Art Basel exhibitors have traditionally found room for the medium. But, this year, a shift seems to be taking place. A deeper, broader and more diverse range of photography, across vintage, Modern and contemporary, is now on sale at the fair.
“Compared to the early days, collectors are infinitely more receptive to collecting works by photographers,” says Edwynn Houk, the director of the eponymous New York gallery. He is a specialist photography gallerist who is selling works at Art Basel by Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Imogen Cunningham and Tina Modotti.
“Compared to the early days, collectors are infinitely more receptive”
Edwynn Houk, director of the eponymous New York gallery
Perhaps part of the reason for the shift lies in the gravitational pull of the mega-galleries. Hauser & Wirth’s representation of Cindy Sherman in 2021 was a bellwether event for photography. Sherman began making work in the 1970s and, at times, justifiably felt ignored by the mainstream art fairs. Suddenly, her work was selling on the same footing as Louise Bourgeois, Hans Arp, Philip Guston et al.
In March, Gagosian announced that it would represent Nan Goldin, an artist whose market has remained in the doldrums for more than a decade while she recovered from a prescribed opioid addiction. Gagosian has backed this up by bringing to the fair original prints by Francesca Woodman, the prodigious self-portraitist who died by suicide in 1981, at the age of 22. The gallery has also chosen a fairly unheralded series of works by Richard Avedon, called In the American West (1979-84), as its Unlimited offering.
The blue chips’ interest in photography “has been gradual, building probably over 15 years”, Houk says. “But the big galleries now take photography very seriously.” And there is a trickle-down effect. Smaller galleries also seem willing to take more risks, showing photographers or series that are yet to gain serious institutional pedigree, or that were ignored by previous generations.
New names are also being platformed. Thomas Zander is prominently displaying a large-scale contemporary work by the young, London-based Polish photographer Joanna Piotrowska, while Frankfurt’s Jacky Strenz Galerie has dedicated its stand to stark images by the late US photographer Lynne Cohen. “She was known, but she wasn’t a superstar, even in photography,” Strenz acknowledges. A number of Cohen’s photographs sold on the fair’s first VIP day, but the gallery declined to reveal how many.
Reappraisal under way
The increased interest in photography can perhaps also be attributed to the death of George Floyd, after which certain galleries started to platform works by overlooked Black photographers, mostly from the US. Gordon Parks, the first Black photographer to work on the famous Life magazine, was one artist to quickly be given a posthumous reappraisal, both institutionally and commercially. His works are on sale at Art Basel this year with New York’s Jenkins Johnson Gallery, among others.
Is this resulting in sales? So far, the more established names are cutting through. The London-based gallery Maureen Paley reported an early sale of a Wolfgang Tillmans image for $120,000, while Gladstone gallery sold a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph for $75,000. But a new work by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat remains, at this stage, unsold by Gladstone. “There’s a huge amount of interest in her work and we will continue to have conversations,” gallery partner Caroline Luce says.
The big beasts look set to retain their interest in the art world’s traditional outsider. But the large galleries are unlikely to start getting behind young photographers any time soon. Why? Because the numbers do not work. “If the big galleries start to represent someone, they have to at least be a mid-career artist, if not beyond,” Houk says, “because of the economics”. Possibly because of its replicable nature, photography does not command the same prices as paintings. Until it does, photographers will still struggle to get the same hearing as the doyens of other media.
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