Interviews The more you wait, the bigger the reward
One of the most influential names in nature and wildlife photography, Florian Schulz has dedicated years of his life to documenting critical wildlife corridors to inspire individuals to join hands in the protection of large endangered ecosystems. The youngest founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Schulz has won numerous prestigious awards including the Nature's Best Photography Award and the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Photographer of the Year 2008. He is also a recognized speaker in the topics of photography and inspirational conservation visions.
When did you take up photography? Do you remember the first picture you took?
I have had a natural inclination for the outdoors and the natural world from a very young age. When I turned 14, my parents gave me a manual Praktika camera. I would spend hours and hours outside observing nature and its little wonders and the camera gave me the perfect reason to stay outside. I photographed thousands of lizards and dragonflies in the summer; but winter was the most exciting time when I would go looking for foxes on the coldest days and shoot kingfishers along the semi frozen streams. It was here where my passion for wildlife observation and photography began.
I once built a blind to photograph a shy kingfisher who was fishing out of an opening in the ice. After freezing my fingers for many hours, the bird finally appeared and allowed me to take really intimate portraits and close ups of its beautiful feathers. I was hooked! Spending hours immersed in complete silence in the natural world, truly allowed to me to learn my subjects in depth and turn those beautiful moments into delightful images.
Have you had any formal training in photography?
No, I have learnt from practice. But I have always enjoyed and admired coffee-table photography books from the masters like Ansel Adams, Sebastian Salgado, Frans Lanting and Art Wolf.
What is it about wildlife photography that interests you?
I enjoy every aspect of it, even the long waiting hours. I have learnt that the more you wait, the bigger the reward. Photographing wild subjects is just really intriguing. There is always something exciting and new to learn even from a species that you have photographed many times before. I cannot recall a situation where I photographed a wild animal that did not leave me with a memorable experience.
More Photos by Florian | Fotosocial
What is the most challenging aspect of wildlife photography?
Catching your subjects, when they are doing something unusual is the most challenging part of wildlife photography. There are so many ways to present a portrait of a wild animal and I always strive to get unique perspectives that reflect their behaviour. Transcribing unusual behaviour of animals into a striking shot which communicates something to your audience is really hard.
Photography has served as a key element to inspire individuals to take action because it doesn’t need too much explanation.
How impactful is photography as a medium to generate awareness and inspire individuals to take action in the protection of endangered ecosystems and wilderness areas?
It is really impactful. We humans are visual beings; everything comes first through our eyes. And the more dramatic a visual, the more you want to see it and the more you want to learn about it. Photography has served as a key element to inspire individuals to take action because it doesn’t need too much explanation. It captures your attention and it delivers the message almost instantly. For centuries visuals (paintings, pictures, films) have served as primary witnesses and proof of remote places and its inhabitants little known by civilization. Take the example of Thomas Moran whose paintings of the waterfalls and geysers from Yellowstone played a key role to help establish the first national park in the US or the MegaTransect project by Michael Fay and photographer Nick Nichols. The images from this expedition across the Congo Basin in Africa, served to help establish 13 national parks in Gabon.
More Photos by Florian | Fotosocial
Your first book Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam won the Independent Book Publisher Award: “Outstanding Books of the Year”. What is it about?
The establishment of the national parks around the world led us to believe that we had figured out how to protect endangered landscapes and its wildlife. But recent scientific research has shown the environmental impacts such preserves suffer from when they become isolated from its original ecosystem. Conservationists have begun to understand that in order to maintain a healthy preserve with its native flora and fauna it needs to be connected to other very similar ecosystems. For years, natural reserves that were isolated from other protected areas or similar wild areas, started to show signs of higher extinction rate among its native plants and animals. Why? Because they were isolated; by a major highway, a surrounding urban area or simply a delimited invisible line that applied protection from one side, while the other was kept open to development, industry and mineral extraction. My book “Yellowstone to Yukon-Freedom to Roam” takes a closer look into wildlife corridors along the spine of the continent through the Rocky Mountains, from the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, all the way to the north where the Yukon begins in Canada. This book project, that evolved into a major outreach campaign with a travelling exhibit and life presentations, wants to make the general public aware why it is important to apply this concept to all our natural preservers to maintain ecological equilibrium in our last remaining wild lands.
The book aims at giving a broader picture of what a wildlife corridor is and why it is so necessary to maintain a healthy and sustainable ecosystem in the long run. The Y2Y corridor is essential because it represents the last true inland wilderness corridor along the Rocky Mountains. This unique place, nurtures the wild creatures from the west that have completely disappeared from the rest of the continent. If we want to preserve grizzlies and wolves for the future we have to start connecting this land and establish a sustainable management program for its natural resources to allow wildlife to migrate freely across the land.
More Photos by Florian | Fotosocial
You have numerous awards to your credit including the Conservation Photographer of the Year 2008 and the NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) Vision Award. Which one of them means the most to you? Why?
To win an award is a great honour and I feel blessed for each of this recognitions. They all have given me a lot of strength to continue doing what I do, even though sometimes it is easy to loose faith. I hope these titles will help me find new platforms to bring forth the message of Wildlife Corridors to broader audiences.
What got you interested in your second conservation photography project, Freedom to Roam?
It was really exciting to realize there were other initiatives being taken to connect land and preserves in other parts of America. When I read about B2B I was hooked, because it made total sense. Everything is connected! Marine preserves too need to be protected as well as connected to the coast as their mutual relation is very important. Therefore coastal preserves and marine preservers need to be managed accordingly to ensure the survival of all marine species.
When I get a chance to share the reason why I do it [photography], it is twice as rewarding.
You are one of the youngest founding members of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). How did this organization come about?
It was about 5 years ago, when I sat with Cristina Mittermeier in a bar in DC, talking about creating a group whose specific goals were photographical focus on conservation and endangered ecosystems. We knew there was an incredible value to images, when it came to conservation efforts. We also knew there was a strong bond between the two, since conservation can be more successful with the proof of documentary material like images. So we decided it was time to call on the best photographers out there, who were doing this work, to join hands and bring conservation photography to the next level.
iLCP has become a leading group in the aspects of conservation photography because it represents the best nature, wildlife and conservation photographers known today that are leading important conservation projects like the “The Extreme ICE Survey project” by James Balog which is documenting Global Warming and climate change. iLCP has evolved as a strong platform to bring the message of conservation to large audiences around the world. I feel iLCP still has a lot to accomplish but I think we are on the right path.
More Photos by Florian | Fotosocial
You have delivered over 50 lectures on photography and eco-conservation at some of the most prestigious venues in the world. Do you enjoy public speaking as much as your photography?
Yes I do! When I am shooting I am in my element. But when I get a chance to share the reason why I do it, it is twice as rewarding. This is where I feel I can make a difference by talking to people about what I am documenting and why they should care.
What other genres of photography interest you? Why?
I am also interested in photojournalism because it can be applied to wildlife photography to get unique results. It helps me to focus on telling a story, in a unique and powerful way.
Can you tell us some more about your upcoming book project on the Canadian Arctic?
The book project “To the Arctic” was born suddenly out of the necessity to continue the battle against offshore oil development in the Alaskan Arctic. It will be the official book of the IMAX movie “To the Arctic” and will be used to present a case to the Members of Congress to oppose offshore oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic. This book will reflect the beauty and uniqueness of the arctic and will aim to increase awareness about this little understood, yet extremely important and fragile ecosystem. This book will include Canada and Europe, apart from Alaska. The images in the book will include incredible wide panoramas as well as intimate portraits of wildlife and its habitat.
The Arctic is a complete ecosystem, connected in a very intricate way to the rest of the world. If we disrupt this part of the globe, we are disrupting the entire planet. I hope to be able to deliver this message in a compelling way to our readers and followers to continue to gain support for the Arctic.
More Photos by Florian | Fotosocial
What are your thoughts on the role of printing in photography?
We produce fine art prints and I think it is part of the art to present stunning imagery on a large piece of paper. It talks to the people in a very different way. It allows you to get an intimate look at an image. It is peaceful and timeless. I love seeing my images hanging in a museum or in gallery because they bring me right back to the moments when I took those pictures and allow me to savour them longer.
 |
 |
 |
Quick 8:
|
||
 |
 |
 |
