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Photo of the Week – 7.27.09

gege — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:45:25 +0000

Our last photograph for this month by photographer of the month Thomas Mangelsen (a member of the iLCP) is of icebergs in Svalbard, Norway. Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and the North Pole which consists of three populated islands and several smaller islands, all of which are under full Norwegian sovereignty. The total area of the islands, 61,022 sq km, is 60% covered by glaciation.

Our July feature of Thomas Mangelsen kicks off the next 5 months of blogs featuring the premier photographers who will present at the WILD9 plenary. Along with many other outcomes for wilderness conservation world-wide, WILD9 promises to be the largest conservation photography event ever!

Photo of the Week – 7.20.09

gege — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:12:53 +0000

Our photo of the week, by photographer of the month Thomas Mangelsen (a member of the iLCP) is of the sand dunes in the Namib Desert, Namibia, Africa. The Namib has been arid or semi-arid for at least 55 million yeras, making it the second oldest desert in the world (after the Atacama Desert in Chile). The Namib recieves less than 10 mm (0.4 inches) or rain per year! The Namib is home to some of the tallest sand dunes in the world — some are over 300 meters high!

Photo of the Week – 7.13.09

gege — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:09:25 +0000

This stunning photograph by Thomas Mangelsen, our photographer of the month and member of the iLCP, is of an Alaskan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), catching spawning Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), Brooks River Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Alaskan Brown Bears (also known as Kodiak bears) as naturally active during the day, however, when faced with competition for food or space, they tend to adopt nocturnal behavior. When the salmon run, typically from May through September, these bears are often found near local streams and lakes.

Our July feature on Thomas Mangelsen, kicks off the next 5 months of blogs featuring the premier photographers who will present at the WILD9 plenary. Along with many other outcomes for wilderness conservation world-wide, WILD9 promises to be the largest conservation photography event ever!

Photographer of the Month – Thomas Mangelsen

gege — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:41:51 +0000

Our July photographer of the month, Thomas Mangelsen, kicks off the next 5 months of blogs featuring the premier photographers who will present at the WILD9 plenary. Along with many other outcomes for wilderness conservation world-wide, WILD9 promises to be the largest conservation photography event ever!

Thomas D. Mangelsen, a Nebraska native and member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, is recognized as one of the world’s premier nature photographers. Mangelsen’s love of nature, his life in the outdoors, and business success were heavily influenced by his father. An avid sportsman, Harold Mangelsen took his sons to favorite blinds along the Platte River in Nebraska to hunt and observe the huge flocks of ducks, geese, and cranes that migrate through the area. From these outings Mangelsen learned the important lessons for photographing in the field, including patience, waiting for the right moment, and understanding animal behavior.

Mangelsen’s photographs were showcased in Vital Signs: Images of Biodiversity. This natural history photography exhibit is a combination of Mangelsen’s craft and knowledge of science, and stress the importance of maintaining a balanced and diverse ecosystem. Vital Signs was co-sponsored by Images of Nature and the San Diego Natural History Museum and was exhibited in museums throughout the United States and Canada. Tom’s work has also been exhibited in the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, Natural History Museum in London, and King Sportsman’s Edge Gallery in New York City.

In 2005 Tom was named one of the 100 most important people in photography by American Photo Magazine as well as being honored with Nikon’s Legend behind the Lense recognition. He has received an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Photographic Society in 2002, named North American Nature Photographer Association’s (NANPA) Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year in 2000 and in 1994, Mangelsen received the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award, sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and British Gas.

Mangelsen’s work has been published in National Geographic, Audubon, National Wildlife, Smithsonian, Natural History, Newsweek, Wildlife Art, American Photo, Nikon World and other publications. In addition, there are a growing number of books for young readers, art cards, fine art posters, puzzles, screen savers and calendars available through Images of Nature galleries.

Tom’s dedication to preserve our fragile natural world is best stated in his own words; “May these images inspire you to experience and preserve the wonders of our natural world.” You can read more and view Mangelsen’s images on his website >

Photo of the Week – 6/15/2009

gege — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:48:48 +0000

This photo is by Thomas Peschak, a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and our photographer of the month.

Photo of the Week – 6/8/2009

gege — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:37 +0000

This photo is by Thomas Peschak, a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and our photographer of the month.

Photographer of the Month – Tom Peschak

gege — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:30:26 +0000

Thomas P. Peschak, our photographer of the month and member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, is the Chief Photographer of the Save our Seas Foundation and travels extensively in pursuit of marine wildlife and underwater stories.

Peschak was born in Germany but has lead a near continuous nomadic existence and today spends the 100 or so days when he is not on the road in his adopted home of Cape Town, South Africa. He is a former marine biologist who specialized in kelp forest ecology and the impacts of illegal fishing, who left science to pursue a life in environmental photojournalism.

He began his career specializing in photographing Africa’s marine and coastal biodiversity and produced three books on the subject. Currents of Contrast: Life in Southern Africa’s Two Oceans, South Africa’s Great White Shark and Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa. He has recently broadened his geographic scope to include the wider Indian Ocean region and has worked extensively in the Maldives, Seychelles and Middle East. A new book on the marine environment of Aldabra and the Seychelles is due to be published in mid 2009.

Photo of the Week – 05/18/09

gege — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:00:27 +0000

This photo was taken by our Photographer of the Month, Jurgen Freund, a fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. This is an image of a saltwater crocodile between mangrove roots.

Photo of the Week – 5/11/09

gege — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:52:23 +0000

This photo was taken by our Photographer of the Month, Jurgen Freund, a fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Jurgen photographed these tourists at the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, in Australia where great adventures like Scubadoo, helicopter rides, and snorkeling are very popular.

Photographer of the Month: JÜRGEN FREUND

gege — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:28:37 +0000

JÜRGEN FREUND was born in Dortmund, Germany in 1959. He is fondly called Yogi as Jürgen can be pronounced a million different ways causing him some shivers. Yogi is an associate member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He studied mechanical engineering and found out it wasn’t creative enough for his inventive mind. Instead of designing machines, he worked as an industrial photographer in Munich for 7 years. Lured by the challenge of marine wildlife photography, he acquired an underwater camera even before learning how to scuba-dive in 1981 in the cold lakes of Germany. Finally, he answered “the call of the sea” and became a full-time international freelance marine photographer in 1995. He traveled all over the world, taking acclaimed pictures published in numerous international magazines.

Photo of the Week – 4/20/2009

gege — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:09:25 +0000

This phenomenal photograph of an owl is by Staffan Widstrand, our photographer of the month and fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Owls are birds of prey, mostly solitary and nocturnal creatures. Owls are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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Photo of the week – 04/13/09

gege — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:00:09 +0000

This image of the European lynx portrait (Lynx lynx) was taken by Staffan Widstrand, our photographer of the month and fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. This European lynx was captive and the photo was taken in Norway.

The Eurasian or Northern lynx is generally much larger than its Canadian counterpart and in coloration and marking, more noticeably spotted – although this varies extensively with its location. The Eurasian lynx was once found in the forested areas throughout most of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. However today the range of the cat has been drastically reduced in Europe and they are only to be found in some of the northern countries, parts of Greece and Czechoslovakia. Recently the cat has been reintroduced to parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where it is beginning to re-establish.

Monitoring of the lynx by conservation authorities in these areas continues to gain more information on the cats hunting behaviour and the debate, which is common in areas were the interests of wild cat populations is at odds with local inhabitants, seems set to continue.

Photographer of the Month – Staffan Widstrand

gege — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:00:47 +0000

Staffan Widstrand is an artistic photojournalist from Sweden and a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP).

Staffan’s many accolades include: 10 awards in the Wildlife Photographer of the year competition; Nature Photographer of the Year in Sweden 2001; founding member of the Swedish Ecotourism Association; and, co-founder of the “Big Five Swedish national carnivore information center”in Jarvso, Sweden. From 1998-2004 Staffan ran a media project called “The Scandinavian Big Five”, which attempted to cover as many aspects as possible of the five large Scandinavian carnivores – the wolf, bear, lynx, wolverine and man. He is a board member of the Swedish Ecotourism Society because he believes ecotourism is an extremely useful tool to promote conservation, local sustainable development and genuine goodwill among tour guides, tourists, and the local people. He is now busy building up the major nature communication initiative Wild Wonders of Europe.

Learn more about Staffan.

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Photo of the week – 3/23/09

gege — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:21:49 +0000

This photo of the Pacific ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys olivacea) laying eggs is by Steve Winter, our photographer of the month and member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. The olive ridley is widely distributed in circumtropical seas. Mayor nesting beaches identified in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, the Nicoyan peninsula of Costa Rica , Surinam, Angola, Mozambique,Madras and Orissa, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Pakistan, and the Andaman Islands. This image by Steve Winter was taken in St. Rosa Arribada, Costa Rica.

Photographer of the Month – Steve Winter

gege — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:32:35 +0000

“My first camera was a gift from my father on my seventh birthday. Over the next years, he taught me the basics of photography. After graduating from the Academy of Art and University of San Francisco, I signed on as a photojournalist for Black Star Photo Agency. Since then, I have produced stories for GEO, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Natural History, Audubon, Business Week, Scientific American, and Stern, among other publications. My non-profit and commercial clients include UNICEF, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, and others. In 1991, I began shooting for the National Geographic Society, where I have been a contract photographer for National Geographic magazine since 1995.

I am fascinated by people and culture, and have a great love for the natural world. I have produced stories on everything from an AIDS hospice for children in Haiti, volcanoes in Iceland, jaguars, and the natural history of Cuba, nanotechnology and Mother Theresa’s Home for Children, to life along Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River. My work has taken me around the globe, sometimes to remote and physically challenging destinations. I feel very fortunate to have realized my dream.” – Steve Winter

Steve Winter is a fellow member on the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP).

Photographer of the Month: Joel Sartore

gege — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:38:55 +0000

“We have to do something about this” is a phrase often heard while in the company of Nebraskan photographer, Joel Sartore. A National Geographic photographer and passionate conservationist, Joel is not only notable for his charming sense of humor and mid-western work ethic, but also for the intense sense of responsibility he feels to preserve all things wild through his photography. He is an active member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and has been a part of both the 2008 and 2009 WILD/ILCP calendars.

A journalism graduate from the University of Nebraska, Joel started his photographic career at The Wichita Eagle, and by the early nineties he had been recruited by National Geographic and today a fellow member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). In addition to his delightful work on Americana, his keen interest in raising awareness for conservation has led him to cover issues ranging from land use and endangered species, to wildlife management and the demise of the American prairie.

Working both as a freelance and contract photographer, Joel’s images have graced over 20 stories in National Geographic Magazine. The hopeful outlook and remarkable wit he brings to his work is contagious, and his ability to find the silver lining in every challenge is an inspiration to those who are lucky to work with him.

Over the past two years, Joel has gone on voluntary “self-grounding” to stay home and support his wife, who has been waging a battle with breast cancer. With perennial optimism, Joel has taken this opportunity to reconnect with his three young children and with the American Midwest farmland he so loves.

Even in this challenging situation Joel has been able to find inspiration to continue shooting for conservation. He is now photographing zoo specimens to illustrate the demise of amphibians worldwide; an issue that requires immediate action to prevent the extinction of as many as 50% of all amphibian species worldwide.

Joel’s work has appeared in Audubon, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and numerous book projects including the Day in the Life series. Joel and his work has also been the subject of several national television shows, including National Geographic’s Explorer and CBS This Morning. Sartore has been recognized for his work by the National Press Photographers Association, the Inland Daily Press Association, and the Pictures of the Year International contest.