David Attenborough has shared the Earth’s natural world with us for more than eighty years. Writer, broadcaster, natural historian and biologist, he is profoundly connected to his subjects and audience—and recognizes the profound impact of his work on both.
“The world would be in a far, far worse situation now had there been no broadcasting of natural history,” Attenborough said. “People have found it a source of fascination and beauty and interest, and this has become key to looking after the world.”
Photographs, film and television, books, articles and poems can tell nature’s story and illumine its indescribable value. They inspire love and respect for our natural world. Each of these communication forms can also compel a paradigm shift in perspective. The knowledge, information, and messages can build bridges of care and compassion for our earth and its future. These bridges can also cross the human divide, where we often find ourselves.
Like Attenborough, I believe photographs are indescribably valuable in telling the story of nature.
I was born into a botanical life. Immersed in this world from childhood, I inherited my family’s passion for flowers, trees and plants. From the time I started taking pictures, photography has been a way to share the love for nature I inherited. Though my work includes commercial projects, photojournalism and more, my commitment to making nature images has been an enduring constant. Except when it wasn’t.
For a few years, I put my camera down and quit taking pictures. My perception at the time was that photography had become irrelevant and had lost its value in and to our world. However, every day during this time, photography was still there in my heart and mind. It was hard to reconcile that something I believed in and loved so much was valueless. And it was heartbreaking to be away from doing the thing that gave me such joy.
During the last few years, my view has changed. Today, I believe photography may be more important than it has ever been. Photographs of nature are an irreplaceable visual voice. They illuminate the scope and spectrum of the natural world and reveal gifts right before us we may not see—and yet sustain the planet. Silent advocates of truth and beauty, photographs inspire, nurture and educate.
They act as Cupid and move our hearts and minds to fall in love with animals, plants, land, sea and sky. They make us happy.
In his sign-off from a 2016 episode of BBC’s Planet Earth 2, Attenborough said, “It’s on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world will depend. And it is, surely, our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”
If my work, in even the smallest way, can contribute to the conversation about nature’s infinite worth and our obligation and responsibility to care for and sustain it, I will continue.
