Who Is Frans Lanting's Photography?
Frans Lanting is a Dutch born nature photographer who is the photographer in residence at National Geographic magazine who has completed over 13,000 prints in his over forty years of field work that show his commitment to protecting and educating the world about the wonderous creatures and places that are beyond our imaginations (Dems). Born in a small village in the Netherlands, Lanting watched his hometown be transformed from a sanctuary for nature and beauty to a center of petrochemical industry, and this area was forever ruined by the petroleum production. Hans says this about this experience,” I’ve seen first hand how societies overwhelm organic landscapes.”(pdngallery) Inspired to prevent this from happening elsewhere, Lanting went
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In his print Parson Chameleon, Lanting relies on color as well as pattern to convey an image of peaceful wonder as the chameleon’s tail is shown to create a swirling pattern involving black bands on a predominantly bright green creature, creating a stark contrast that draw the viewer's eyes to the tail. In a separate work entitled Tuatara, Sphenodon guntheri, Lanting focuses on the similarity of texture between the rock and the Tuatara as well as color similarities between the mineral deposits on the rock and scale color on the animal, bringing a feeling of cohesion and unity to the print. Lanting purpose for this print is to show interconnectedness among all creatures, places and things, which relates to his overarching goal for photography, that all life is sacred. Lastly, Lanting is a master of using motion in photography that gives live to the print by use of blurring and fading lines or using a still body of water, as he did in Elephants 4, a work that he completed on his expedition to Nabina. The still body of water reflects the elephants, creating a mirror image if the herd of elephants drinking as the moon begins to rise. The timing of this photograph is wonderful and by taking the photograph at dusk as opposed to taking it at dawn, a more purple hue is
In his print Parson Chameleon, Lanting relies on color as well as pattern to convey an image of peaceful wonder as the chameleon’s tail is shown to create a swirling pattern involving black bands on a predominantly bright green creature, creating a stark contrast that draw the viewer's eyes to the tail. In a separate work entitled Tuatara, Sphenodon guntheri, Lanting focuses on the similarity of texture between the rock and the Tuatara as well as color similarities between the mineral deposits on the rock and scale color on the animal, bringing a feeling of cohesion and unity to the print. Lanting purpose for this print is to show interconnectedness among all creatures, places and things, which relates to his overarching goal for photography, that all life is sacred. Lastly, Lanting is a master of using motion in photography that gives live to the print by use of blurring and fading lines or using a still body of water, as he did in Elephants 4, a work that he completed on his expedition to Nabina. The still body of water reflects the elephants, creating a mirror image if the herd of elephants drinking as the moon begins to rise. The timing of this photograph is wonderful and by taking the photograph at dusk as opposed to taking it at dawn, a more purple hue is