Editor's note: Most readers know that in the historical process of man-nature coexistence, there are books that have had a revolutionary impact on the relationship between the two, such as Silent Spring – but few people know that there have been photographs, and they have had similar important effects, such as xi Zhinong's lens of the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, which promoted the establishment of the reserve, such as the chimpanzee head in the kitchen photographed by Carl Aman, which bears witness to the crimes committed by humans against nature...
Today's book reviewer to share with you is a wildlife photography collection - "Spirit of Life", which contains the excellent photography works of the BBC International Wildlife Photography Year Competition in the past 50 years, bringing together a variety of excellent animal and plant portraits, unique landscapes of nature and other rare pictures. With their ingenious ideas and amazing perseverance, these talented photographers capture the natural state and most magical moments of animal life in the wild.
Most of the time these works give us the feeling of beauty, but sometimes, those shocking shots make people feel unstoppable sadness in their hearts. These two emotions embody the most basic attitudes of nature: we love it, but we seem powerless to do anything about what happens.
Of course not, but documenting it all with the lens is itself a way of resistance and participation, and more importantly, when these photos enter the classroom, into the children's world, they will see another real world: full of wild beauty, yet so fragile.
Flying colors
The photographer "paints" with the dynamics of the parrot's natural flight, resulting in the effect of these translucent wings. The idea of this photograph was surprising and innovative in that era, which earned it the grand prize. It was also one of the first photographs of this scene to be taken. These red-and-green Macaws gather on the banks of the river every morning to nibble on clay. They flew over in droves, nibbling on a mouthful of clay, swallowing toxins that neutralized the seeds they usually ate. This photo was taken in Peru's Manu National Park, where photographers hide in hidden tents on the opposite riverbank before sunrise to avoid being spotted by vigilant macaws.
Photographer: André Bärtschi Liechtenstein
Filmed in: 1992
Photographic equipment: Nikon F4 camera, 400mm lens, Fujiville 50 flip film, tripod, f/4, 1/30s
shrimp
It's an amazing piece that has been unmatched even for 20 years. It is characterized by the perspective: the anemone resembles a huge fortress from which a small shrimp peeks out and becomes the highlight of the picture. The lighting of the entire picture has been carefully designed, using a softened flash to add a layer of luster to the anemone, illuminating the head of the shrimp, while hiding the background in mysterious darkness. The photograph also hints at the symbiotic relationship between the two species of creatures in the Red Sea: the shrimp are responsible for cleaning the anemone, and the anemone provides food and shelter for the shrimp through its umbrella-like barbed tentacles.
Photographer: Jeff Rotman USA
Filmed in: 1991
Photographic equipment: Nikonos II underwater camera, UW-Nikkor 28mm lens, with 2:1 close-up ring, KodakRom 64 inverted film, flash and reflector, f/22
Big Bear and Little Fox
It's a one-of-a-kind photograph that remains true for 20 years. The photograph is broad and focused, with a connection between a large bear and a small fox: a story about living together unfolds. The panoramic view gives an intuitive impression of the endless ice that stretches to the sea level. Hudson Bay, where the sea freezes in winter, is a hunting ground for polar bears. Polar bears and foxes stood together, looking at the setting sun as if their journey were about to begin. They always travel in pairs, polar bears hunt seals on the ice, and arctic foxes collect scraps left behind by their companions. At the same time, it is also the first panoramic photo to participate in the competition and win the grand prize. It took photographers 10 years and more than 80,000 photos to get this most precious moment.
Photographer: Thomas M. Thomas D. Mangelsen, USA
Filmed in: 1994
Photographic equipment: Fujifilm Panoramic 617 camera, Fujinon SW 105mm f/8 lens, bean bag, Fujivilvia 50 inverted film, f/11, 1/125s
Eagle of the Pool
To take such an intimate photo, the photographer's creativity and planning are indispensable. At the edge of the pond not far from home, photographer Matt dug a hole in the ground and sat in it, and his line of sight was basically parallel to the surface of the water. In order not to frighten the other animals who came to the pond, and at the same time to see everything unhindered, he had to use a periscope to observe the surface of the water. Finally, a sparrowhawk visits the pond surrounded by trees. The photographer focused on it before swooping down to drink water, taking the perfect portrait the moment it looked up.
Photographer: Bence Máté, Hungary
Filmed in 2007
Photographic equipment: Nikon D200 camera, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 lens, tripod, f/2.8, 1/1000s
Pecking
The only way to take this photo was to lie on the beach with the elephant seal. On the Malvinas Islands, curious tussock-bird jumps around the elephant seal, either in search of flies, pecking at the nose of the resting male elephant seal, or sucking blood from a wound that pecks at a scab — a male elephant seal that fights so often that it can easily get hurt. In order to avoid the story being too blunt, the photographer chose such an interesting and neutral perspective, recording the interesting actions of the pale black and trembling tail finches.
Photographer: Fritz Pölking, Germany
Photographic equipment: Nikon F4 camera, 300mm lens, tripod, Kodakrom 64 inverted film
Test the depth of the water
On a windless evening, clouds create a visual effect of gray tones on the cold island of Greenland. Layers of ripples appeared on the surface of the melting ice, and an Arctic fox skillfully probed the depth of the water, crossing the ice to climb to an island inhabited by arctic tern colonies. Spring is the time for foxes to molt for the arrival of summer, and the shortage of lemmings has made arctic foxes more focused on hunting chicks than on the photographers who follow them.
Photographers: Jean-Louis Klein & Marie-Luce Hubert, France
Photographic equipment: Canon EOS-1 camera, EF 80-200mmf/2.8 lens, Fuji-Krom 100 inverted film
Golden Diving Bird
The award-winning work was taken in Finland, right next to the photographer's home on a lake. Through 20 years of observation of the red-throated diving bird, the photographer has made this planned work perfectly presented. He knew exactly where the red-throated diving bird would appear at the end of the day. Photographers are seated in specific hidden locations so that they can capture portraits of red-throated diving birds in the afterglow of the summer sun. The forest in the background is hidden in the darkness, and the dark water of the lake reflects the reflection of its velvety smooth neck and creates a ripple effect.
Photographer: Jouni Ruuskanen, Finland
Filmed in: 1989
Photographic equipment: Nikon FM camera, Leitz 560mm f/6.8 lens, Kodak Krome 64 inverted film, tripod, f/6.8, 1/30s
Swan Lake
It's a picture that gives people space to meditate. The inversion of the forest on the water indicates that the giant swan is part of the wetlands of northern Finland. In early spring, soft light from gloomy skies illuminates the white bark of birch trees and the white feathers of giant swans, perfectly setting off the dark forest backdrop. Photographer Philip waited for two days until the wind stopped and the lake calmed down, only to take a picture of the graceful neck curves and trunks of the swans echoing each other. This photograph shows the photographer's serene style of shooting.
Photographer: Philip Philippe Henry Canada
Photographic equipment: Pentax SFXn camera, 300mm f/2.8 lens, additional 1.7x teleconverter, Kodak Krome 64 inverted film, f/5.6, 1/125s
Death rituals
This work makes good use of light to highlight the subject. Time is crucial, with the sunset sky as the background, using flash to hit the head of the tortoiseshell turtle to take this creepy photo. It is also a record of a death ritual, with the setting sun symbolizing the end of the turtle's life. This is part of the death ritual of the Madagascar Vizoans. They perform this ritual for all the turtles. If a hunter catches a turtle, he or she places the turtle meat in the turtle graveyard. The shell of the turtle will remain there, and the head will be inserted into a stake until it falls to the ground and the turtle's soul is free. When the next turtle is caught ashore, the turtle head is returned to the sea.
Photographer: Frans Lanting USA
Filmed in: 1988
Photographic equipment: Nikon FE2 camera, 105mm lens, Vida flash, Kodak Krome 64 retrofit
The breath of singing
Encountering a large reed warbler in a reed is difficult – while the sharp song of the male's courtship is not easy to miss, capturing such a picture requires careful planning and patience on the part of the photographer. This is a vivid scene of a male bird singing in the wetlands of Körkurnsatch, Hungary. The photographer's skill is in planning the entire structure of the picture – knowing where to place the camera and what kind of background light to use. This is a technique that has been used many times by photographers, usually to express the breath of singing.
Photographer: Jan Vermeer, Netherlands
Filmed in: 2004
Photographic equipment: Canon E O S 1 0 D camera, E F500mm f/4L lens, 1.4x EF extender, bean bag, ISO400, f/8, 1/500s
Deadly contact
This is a dramatic scene in the Kalahari Desert: young lions and porcupine mothers and sons have been facing each other for hours. The lion circled the porcupine in circles and tried to attack, but the porcupine erected a full body of thorns to protect itself. As long as the lion is stabbed by any thorn on the porcupine, it will be life-threatening. The standoff ended in a draw, with the inexperienced lion abandoning predation and the porcupine keeping safe.
Photographer: Barrie Wilkins, South Africa
Filmed in: 1993
Photographic equipment: Canon EOS-1 camera, EF 600mm f/4L lens, Kodak Adecan EPZ 100 inverted film, f/4, 1/2000s
Jumping herons
The photographer stopped in Yadabra in the Seychelles for a month and saw the herons' movements so comical when they first saw them catching insects. Usually green herons only eat fish, but this heron wants to try to catch insects, and in fact this stunt-like jump has less than a third chance of actually catching prey. The picture has a perfect balance and the heron's perfect mistake, which is a moment of instinctive behavior given by nature. When the sun began to set, the green heron was still jumping around, giving photographers a chance to capture imaginative angles — a silhouette with a soft background light.
Photographer: Thomas M. Thomas Peschak Germany/South Africa
Filmed in 2009
Photographic equipment: Nikon D3 camera, A F - S 70 -200mm f2.8 lens, ISO400, f/6.3, 1/3200s
The miracle of ants
The secret to the success of this photograph is that it both succinctly utilizes the silhouettes on the leaves and reveals the complex social behavior of small lives. Photographers spent many days in the rainforest of Costa Rica and found that leafcutter ants were most active high in the woods at night, so they began planning to photograph them. He first found a leaf-cutting ant-stripped shrub and then creatively used his outdoor headlamp to illuminate the busy silhouette of the leafcuttering ant. When all this is in place, he only needs to wait for the ants to present a suitable composition. But the ant moved so fast that he had to move the light source at any time to avoid light coming through the hole in the leaf. Four behaviors of ants can be seen in this photo: worker ants cut leaves out of holes and move cut leaves back to the nest, creep ants are wary of parasitic flies, and soldier ants are guarding the side. Everything is just right, highlighting the details in the contrast. The miracle of life was artistically expressed and won the grand prize of the competition.
Filmed in: 2010
Photographic equipment: Nikon D700 camera, AF 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, Nikon SB-800 flash, ISO 640, f/10, 1/200 s
Relative value
The juxtaposition of the gorilla's head, bowl, and banana is a shock to the hearts of anyone who sees this picture. The head belonged to the lowland gorilla, a type of ape that bore a striking resemblance to humans. While wild animals are often brought to the table by people living in the jungle, this gorilla, which was ordered for dinner by a police chief in Cameroon, actually represents the plundering of the jungle by humans. A photographer spotted such a scene in the kitchen and photographed it to expose the commercial game trade in West Africa. The award-winning photo was even so bloody that some people complained that it should not be exhibited. And as west African forests have been destroyed and the game trade has increased, the numbers of gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos have declined at an alarming rate, all of which can be seen as a powerful justification for this photograph.
Photographer: Karl Ammann Switzerland
Filmed in: 1995
Photographic equipment: Nikon F4 camera, AF 24-50mm lens, Fuji-Vilevier inverted film, flash
"Still life" in oil pollution
This photo is full of beauty, both in tone and composition like an oil painting. The elegant pelicans seem to have been shaped long ago, and the colors have been carefully matched: the pelican feathers are rich in color, composed of honey, russet and reddish brown, echoing with the dark brown wood and honey-colored cloth, and the cloth in the foreground leads to the swirling background behind the birds, making the whole picture vivid. But in fact, this photo records an extremely tragic scene. The brown pelicans were actually victims of the BP Gulf of Mexico leak in April 2010. The protagonist of the photo is a group of 2,000 pelicans rescued after the oil spill, waiting for volunteers to clean them up. By this time they had been sprayed with light oil to eliminate the heavy crude oil stuck to the feathers, which stained the feathers on their heads from pale to orange and the rest of their bodies reddish-brown. The photograph, along with its story, became the photographer's "portrait of disaster" and earned him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Photographer: Daniel Beltrá Spain/USA
Filmed in: 2011
Photographic equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera, EF 35mmf/1.4L lens, ISO 800, f/4, 1/30s, -0.7EV exposure compensation
This article is excerpted from "Spirit of Life: 50 Years of International Wildlife Photography Annual Competition" (co-produced by CITIC Publishing House and China National Geographic Books, January 2015), author: Rosamond Kidman Cox, translator: Shen Cheng/Wild China, published with the permission of the publisher, please contact the book reviewer, please indicate the source and ID.
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