Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a French photographer born in 1946 in Paris. His interest in nature and wildlife has always influenced his work. He began work in the movie industry in 1963  working as a directors assistant, this led to a career in acting. In 1967 he left the movie industry in 1967 to run 'Château de Saint Augustin wildlife park'. Crucially to his photography career, in 1976 he and his wife Anne moved to Kenya, where he lived with a Maasai tribe for 3 years to study lions, during this time he took numerous photographs to accompany their notes and observations. Yann and his wife Anne returned to France in 1981, he then published the photographs taken in Kenya and entitled it 'Lions' in 1983. In the years following Yann did many journalistic jobs in France including various work on sports, wildlife and aerial photography for magazines such as 'Paris Match', 'Life', 'Figaro' and 'GEO', he photographed the French tennis open every year and also did work with ecologist Dian Fossey taking pictures of Gorillas in Rwanda.

In 1991 he founded the Altitude Agency, which was the first agency to specialises in aerial photography, something he had loved for many years. His love for aerial photography was sparked whilst living in Kenya, where he made his living as a hot air balloon pilot. One of Yann's most well known books is probably 'Earth from above', which he did in partnership with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) the aim of the work done was to study the earth from above. 'Earth from Above" sold well over 3 million copies and was translated into over 24 languages, it has since been revised several times in several different editions. In 2008 'Earth from Above' was released on DVD, making it one of his most well known pieces of work.

 

Earth from Above

 In 2005 he set up the environmental organisation 'GoodPlanet' which helps people and companies reduce their carbon offset and also funds renewable energies, energy efficiency and reforestation. Yann recently Directed and produced a very successful and acclaimed documentary called Plant Ocean in 2012, The photography in the film is stunningly beautiful, and this coupled with the message of conservation and respect for the oceans and the planet are some of the reasons it was such a successful documentary.
As a Dog-Lover I really loved Yanns book 'Dogs' because it was a book dedicated to celebrating mans best friend. Capturing the playfulness, innocence and un-conditional affection they show, the book includes over 220 pedigree breeds and the accompanying text offers insights into each breeds history and personality traits. The book includes some touching shots of the dogs themselves and with their owners which was an aspect I really appreciated and enjoyed because you could see the pure adoration between the dogs and their owners. Two of Yann's other book very similar  to 'Dogs' would be 'Horses' and 'Cats' which is a celebration of the beauty and majesty of Horses and The playfulness and mystique of Cats, both books show the animals loving relationships with their human counterparts as well as individual shots, similarly to 'Dogs'. Again another book of Yann's with a similar format is 'Good Breeding' which has some lovely almost whimsical photographs of livestock such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs along with the charming farmers who raise them, its one of the first books of its kind to celebrate livestock and their farmers, and the 240 photographs in the book were taken at several agricultural fairs in France, England and Argentina.

Dogs

Some of Yann's many other works  I enjoyed were; 'Man and Sea: Planet Ocean' which  spans from the Arctic to the tropics offering a thorough look at all the worlds oceans, with striking images from both above and bellow the surface; combining Yann's magnificent aerial shots with Brian Skerry's beautiful underwater shots. 'Earth from Above' is Yann's most infamous book, and like all of his other books, the images in 'Earth from Above' are paired with  in-dept and interesting accompanying text in relation to conservation and experts opinions on issues involving our planet. 'Home' is a book which he release d in conjunction with his documentary film 'Home', it is a really beautiful visual journey exploring the planet, and includes over 50 country's, essentially it is plea to help conserve the beauty that remains as Yann himself said "it isn't the 50% of forest that has disappeared that's important, but the 50% that's left". 'Earth from Space' is a book filled with vivid colours, amazing textures and a sense of abstraction, it includes over 150 satellite photographs accompanied with text discussing deforestation, intensive farming, urban sprawl and ocean pollution and its effect on the planet and how it will affect the planets future. '6  Billion Others' is a really interesting book with photos of 500 people from around the world along with text expressing their views and responses to a questionnaire regarding many different issues such as family, money, happiness and love, Yann put the concept of the book very beautifully saying "every single person has got something interesting to say, and every single person has the right to say it".

Planet Ocean

I have loved researching Yann's work. All his work is testament to his lifelong passion and love for the natural world and the animal kingdom, something I too am very interested in.  His photography is breathtakingly beautiful, and his pictures in 'Earth from above' are truly stunning, however one of my favourite works of his is 'Lions'. I think 'Lions' was the start of his journey in photography and Yann himself described the lions as being his first photography teachers; "The lions taught me photography. They taught me patience and the sense of beauty, a beauty that penetrates you". Yann  and his wife were photographing the lions to study the complex relationships between them, their environment, their prey and each other. The book is an intimate look at these amazing animals that allows you to follow their journey. We see them hunt, defend their pride and also see the affection and care the pride show for each other. An aspect I really loved about the book was it wasn't just random pictures of lions, the lions were given names: Hook, Big Vizir, Haddock, Sapience, Aurore and Jouvence, each one had different features and  personality's which shined throughout the book.

Lions