Nick Brandt 2

In this second installment, animal photographer Nick Brandt talks to FotoTV about his epic work in Africa, focusing this time on his technique on photographing the animal’s personalities.

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.

Every animal is different and therefore each with a unique personality. Capturing that special moment for Brandt is a combination of luck and patience. There are only certain animals that let people get close to him, unlike the buffalo, which are highly guarded and territorial.

Brandt also talks about and shares several of his most famous animal photos, each depicting a unique setting and ethereally displaying the animal’s soul in full glory through his lens. His pictures are full of perfect choreography, scenes likened to those out of a Hollywood back lot studio, but Brandt’s photos are as real as real can get, and it is all about waiting for the right moment, sometimes even as long as 17 days to get the shot he is looking for.

For Brandt it is all about the right moment to capture the true personality of the animal he has before his lens.