The final moments before the death of the last male northern white rhinoceros, a 66-year-old elephant swimming in the ocean, and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall searching for chimpanzees in Tanzania in the early 1900s. 1960; These are all moments captured in this powerful collection of photographs that have been donated to raise funds for conservation projects.
“Every photo has a really deep story behind it,” says Vitale, an award-winning photographer and co-founder of Vital Impacts. “I’ve worked really hard when I’ve managed this to make sure these photographers are so diverse, but one thing they do share is a commitment to the planet. They’re using their art to make a difference. help conservation.”
‘Inspiration for the world’
Jane Goodall’s “Self-Portrait”, from the early 1960s, in Tanzania. Credit: Jane Goodall
Vital Impacts has tried to make print sales neutral by planting a tree for every print created. Sixty percent of the profits from the sale will be divided among four groups related to wildlife or habitat protection: Big Life Foundation, Great Plains Foundation Project Rangers, Roots & Shoots Program of the Jane Goodall Institute and SeaLegacy. The remaining 40% will go to photographers to help them continue their work.
‘Our common life raft’
Vitale was a conflict photographer for a decade before becoming a wildlife photographer. She hopes that people will be “inspired by all this work” and that the photos make people “fall in love” with our “magnificent planet”.
Vitale added: “The planet is our collective life raft and we’ve poked some holes in it, but it’s not too late. “We can all take small actions that can have a profound impact. That’s why I named it ‘Important Impact,’ because I think we are often very disconnected and not realizing how interconnected we are. Everything we do impacts the other and shapes this world.”
One of her photographs during the print sale, “Goodbye Sudan”, shows Sudan, the last male Northern white rhinoceros, being comforted by one of its keepers, Joseph Wachira, at the Ol Museum. Pejeta in northern Kenya just before the rhino died in March. 2018. Now, two females are all that’s left of this species.
Ami Vitale’s “Goodbye Sudan” presents moments before the death of the last male northern white rhino in 2018. Credit: Ami Vitale
“It was an important story for me because it made me realize that watching these animals go extinct is like witnessing our own demise,” says Vitale. moving slowly, knowing it would impact humanity,” Vitale said.
“It’s so deeply intertwined. That’s what led me to this path, and now I’m really trying to find these stories that show us a way forward where everyone is learning to coexist. and protect wildlife and the habitats we all share.”
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