Africa Photoblog

1. On your blog post your reactions to what you read and what you saw. How about 3-4 sentences.
I think the photographer has a really interesting point of view when it comes to how he views the African animals. Usually when you see photographs of life on the African savanna it's action shots, cheetahs on the heels of gazelles and stuff like that. But these photographs have a sense of serenity about them.
2. Do a google image search for Nick Brandt, find your favorite photo and post it on your blog.

3. Describe it and tell me why its your favorite.
This is a photograph of a park ranger with the tusks of a killed elephant. I find it intensely emotional and provocative, with the man hiding his face behind a tusk and crouching with the tusks resting on his shoulder allows the viewer to feel the weight of his grief. 
4. What rules of photography are evident in the photos you selected, be sure to explain the rule to me?
A lot of his photos have depth of field, the vast plains of africa stretching out behind many of the subjects in his photographs. Also, he uses a lot of simplicity in his backgrounds, making sure that the subject is clearly the focus of the image.
Do a google search for Nick Brandt

5. What kind of camera and lens does he use and why is this important?
He uses a Pentax 67II without telephoto or zoom lenses because he thinks that it allows him to capture both his subject and the scenery properly.

6. What is his reason for taking these photos?
He wants to capture the natural beauty of East African wildlife before it's gone.

7. What is his hope by taking these type of photos?
He hopes that by showing the beauty of these animals and people and landscapes that it may motivate the world to try and preserve them.

8. Find something he has to say about Africa, and post the quote on your blog.
There is something profoundly iconic, mythological even, about the animals of East and southern Africa. There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains of Africa—those vast, green rolling plains punctuated by graphically perfect acacia trees under the huge skies.