About Staffan Widstrand
“Our job as wildlife photographers is to put images in front of people to get reactions, Oh how cute, oh that’s horrible, poor him or poor her. All those wow feelings. Humans are very primitive beings, we protect what we love and care about what we love. So if we don’t love nature or the next generation doesn’t feel emotionally engaged in nature, it’s lost.”
Outdoor Photography Magazine labelled Staffan one of the world’s most influential nature photographers. He may disagree but he is certainly one of the worlds most productive. 60 years young Staffan has published 18 books, five of which have been winners of the WWF Panda book award. His photographs have been awarded in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (11 times) and the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year (5 times) and his work has been published in the world’s major newspapers and magazines including Der Spiegel, The Guardian and National Geographic.
Staffan is a founding member of the Wild Wonders of Europe – an initiative that celebrates Europe’s natural wonders through photographic exhibitions, books and printed media. The project started 11 years ago and became one of the biggest conservation communication initiatives in the world. To date, the project can boast reaching 800 million people worldwide with incredible images ranging from Scandanavian wolves to sperm whales in the Azores.
Following on from this Staffan is four years into the Wild Wonders of China which showcases the amazing Chinese natural heritages to the world. Our conversation centres around the Wild Wonders model and the power of nature photography to inform and inspire people about fascinating wildlife and spectacular places that most people didn’t know exist.
The Wild Wonders of China is in the early stages but you can already view some extraordinary images on their website here and on Instagram here. Staffan’s goal is to reach 2 billion people with this project so stay tuned. China is a big place and in this interview Staffan reveals some surprising facts about their national parks and protection laws. He has first hand experiences of photographing unusual species in world-class reserves and sees China as a country playing a major role in wildlife conservation.
If you enjoy this interview please help to spread the word, leave a review on iTunes and share it among your friends and family. You can also follow Staffan and the Wild Wonders on the following social media links:
Instagram @staffanwidstrand @wildwondersofeurope @wildwondersofchina @wildwondersoftaiwan
Facebook facebook/staffanwidstrand facebook/wildwondersofchina facebook/wildwondersoftaiwan