Nick Brandt 1

In this FotoTV film, nature and animal photographer Nick Brandt talks about his epic work in Africa while at the Camera Work Gallery in Berlin, Germany. Brandt first visited Africa in 1995, when he was the director for Michael Jackson's Earth Song video. It was on that first trip that he fell in love with the place and the connection to the animals there.

Usually animal photographers shoot in color and with a telephoto lens, two things that Brandt does not do. His stunning images are all shot in black and white, with a subtle sepia tone to give a visual poetic impression of a bygone era. He does not use a telephoto lens; instead he chooses to photograph animals with a simplified perspective that actually represents them in their natural surroundings.

Brandt also discusses his photo book trilogy project, "Paradise, A Shadow Falls”, and a third yet to be titled book, all of them connected with the central theme of animal life in connection with the nature in Africa. Brandt’s photographs of the animals are elegantly arranged almost as if the animals actually posed for the shot--atypical when compared to the usual photos of animal photography filled with action and drama. His goal is to shoot a last testament to the wild animals and places in Africa before they vanish altogether.