Frans Lanting is one of the great nature photographers of our time. He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He earned his masters degree in economics and then came to America to study environmental planning. Soon after he started just doing photography and his other job behind. He became very well known to the world by his pictures ending up in magazines, books, and exhibitions. For 3 decades he took pictures from the amazon to Antartica of wildlife. He has won awards for his pictures ( Kind Penguins on Glacier).
Style
Frans Lanting thinks us humans are also part of wildlife, which is true. Us humans are animals just different way of living. He said this in a lecture. “Once upon a time, he told me, all animals on Earth were one,” Frans explained, “Even though they look different on the outside, inside, they’re all the same, and from time to time they would gather at a sacred cave deep inside the forest to celebrate their unity. When they arrived, they would all take off their skins. Raven shed his feathers, bear his fur, and salmon her scales, and then, they would dance. But one day, a human made it to the cave and laughed at what he saw because he did not understand. Embarrassed, the animals fled, and that was the last time they revealed themselves this way.” I agree that from his point is that we need to respect and honor the animals that live among us.
Philosophy
Frans Lanting photography work is to spread word to the world that wildlife and nature are very important. His pictures represent some wildlife safety campaigns he has been interested in. Frans Lanting himself is apart of many orginizations and is the director of a few. He loves to be out in the wild and see how peaceful the animals are in their natural habbitat.
Influences
Frans Lanting said he was inspired by Ansel Adams, And Brett Westen. When picked his camera he immediately wanted to take nature photos very simmilar to Ansel Adams, and Brett Westens photos. Unlike Ansel Adams, Frans Lanting keeps his photos in color to brighten the beauty in the photos. I
Alder trees, Gazos Creek, Monterey Bay, California, USA Beginning of Winter Taking this picture was very interesting, due to it not being the most colorful or vibrant as the other pictures Frans Lanting has taken. I tries to find some trees with no leaves on it but this what I had to work with. I went at a certain angle so you could the branches crossing and some of the color left in the background.
Baobabs in winter, Western Madagascar Sunsets Trying to take this sunset with big, full trees wasn't easy during winter in Michigan, but I did it. Although it doesn't have very big trees in it it still has some big ones. I edited this picture to get that vibrant color showing instead of the trees.
Leaf detail, Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal. Leaf Veins
When taking this picture I tried to a leaf that matches these colors in the original photo but they were mostly crumpled. It took a few minutes for the camera to try to focus since it was a very big close up picture, but I did it. I enjoyed trying to find the leaf for this photo, it gave me a chance to enjoy fall little bit.
Artist Statement
Although trying to take these pictures wasn't the easiest thing in this world since it was the beginning of winter it certainly was a fun experience. I angled all these photos the best I could so they could match the original. I used some editing for each one to match the original. I certainly enjoyed doing the report on Frans Lanting because it opened my eyes open to a new photographer. I would definitely try to recreate photos from other photographers again.