From the curious eyes of a lion cub to a whale’s tail breaching through a stormy sea, Paul Nicklen’s photography immerses viewers not only in rare and extraordinary natural moments, but in the realities of animals’ lives. For over 30 years, the photographer and filmmaker has been documenting the wonders of the natural world in pursuit of conservation and education. Now, he is releasing Reverence, a stunning retrospective, forthcoming from Hemeria in July.
Reverence brings together the last 30 years of Nicklen’s work into a volume that takes the reader on a journey across land and sea. Featuring 160 photographs, the book highlights some of his most beloved photos, as well as previously unpublished images that expand his already vast collection. Accompanying the images are personal anecdotes and thoughts on the photographer’s relationship to these creatures.
The volume opens with an introduction written from the perspective of “Mother Earth,” establishing a tone that acknowledges both the planet’s beauty and its vulnerability. “This is, after all, your home,” Nicklen writes. “Your one, wild, irreplaceable home. Come back to it.”
In addition to his photography work, Nicklen is the founder of SeaLegacy, a conservation and media organization that seeks to enact change through telling stories about the ocean and its inhabitants. Reflecting on his work, Nicklen states, “The art I create is always in service to the ocean as I attempt to do its beauty justice through my lens. If I can inspire people to care enough to protect it, then maybe we can finally give our planet the respect it deserves and safeguard its future.”
Throughout Reverence, readers are transported into some of the world’s most extreme environments. In the series Living Among Giants, a male lion perches atop a kopje overlooking Tanzania’s Namiri Plains. In another, emperor penguins march across a vast glacial landscape, highlighting both the resilience and fragility of life in the polar regions.
“It is one thing to capture nature in a moment of grace,” Nicklen says, “but quite another to create an image that changes hearts and moves people to act.”
Through these photographs, Nicklen offers the reader a moment to slow down and reconnect with the natural world. It is perhaps in this pause where true reverence for the Earth can be found.
Reverence is now available to order from Hemeria.
Wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen’s stunning retrospective on his 30 years of work brings readers on a journey across land and sea.
Featuring 160 photographs, Reverence highlights some of Nicklen’s most beloved photos, as well as previously unpublished images that expand his already vast collection.
Through these photographs, he offers the reader a moment to slow down and reconnect with the natural world. It is perhaps in this pause where true reverence for the Earth can be found.
Paul Nicklen: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Hemeria.
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