Nick Brandt and the story of Qumquat

I have posted on Nick Brandt's work before, but it would never be enough for me.  This time I am posting with particular emphasis on the story of the beautiful and awe-inspiring Matriarch of two generations, Qumquat (born in 1968) who, along with some of her family, were slaughtered by poachers.  These two photographs above are of 1) Qumquat and her daughter and granddaughter, and 2) Qumquat and her family.

A few purposes of this post are to bring awareness regarding the massacre of elephants and other animals in Africa by poachers; to let you know how you can help; and to display Nick Brandt's powerful and moving imagery.  I will let you experience your own reactions and resist the urge to editorialize with just a few exceptions:

The story of Qumquat and many of Brandt's photographs (when not bringing me sheer joy) bring me to absolute tears. 

When an elephant calf, like Qumquat's baby, experiences their mother's death and then even worse is witness to her being butchered by poachers where they literally cut out the face of the elephant and take the tusks, that calf mourns deeply and as in the case of Quanza, she was found keeping vigil over her mother's body.  She was traumatized.  These animals FEEL things deeply.  They are gentle, sensitive and loving creatures.

Anyone buying ivory is just as much a murderer.  I believe there should not only be fines (with the money going to conservation and protection efforts) for anyone in possession of ivory and a criminal charge should be imposed.

Please read the story of Qumquat and her family by clicking on this link.  This next link has more information and a few disturbing photographs, but if you can skip looking at them, you can read about The Rescue of Quanza which includes background on Amboseli where Qumquat lived and a follow-up report.  It is worth reading.

Please donate to Big Life - you can read about their mission here and I am quite sure any amount of a donation is appreciated. 

Here is some more of Nick Brandt's work.  I have not included captions (at least for now), but for this first one since it is another case of the slaughter of a magnificent and majestic Matriarch of her herd.

Elephants Walking Through Grass, Amboseli 2008. Leading Matriarch Killed By Poachers, 2009

Timothy Allen

I came upon a BBC site for which photographer, Timothy Allen, kept a blog as he shadowed BBC film crews shooting the BBC series entitled, Human Planet.

Rather than post so many worthy images, I am sharing the following link so you can see what he has determined to be his Top 40 favorite photographs from his Human Planet journey. I would have had to paste 40 images were I to show you why this photographer is being featured on my blog ... so I'm taking the easy way out. Click here: Timothy Allen Top 40 Roundup of Favorite Photographs, Human Planet Journey

I realize a picture is worth a thousand words, but I encourage you to read the captions associated with each image in this compilation. The photographs are powerful enough, but to then find out that, for instance, the children at the open fire pit are cooking Goliath tarantulas in Venezuela, gives new meaning to the photograph. The captions allowed me to view the images with greater appreciation -- the photography often brings us to places we have never been before, and at least for me, I want to know where these places are ... Mongolia where we see the beauty of the landscape and a nomadic family moving across the frame to their winter camp ... the "Urban Jungle" of Jaipur, Rajastan, India where we see monkeys sitting on the rooftop in a matter-of-fact, ordinary way -- just another "day in the life" sort of moment.

When have you seen a Huli Tribe in Papua New Guinea or seen the Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Sabah, Malaysia? I am compelled more than ever to see more of the world, but at least this brings me a little closer to fruition.

This photograph: Mombasa, Kenya

Top photograph: Huli Tribe, Papua New Guinea