I first became aware of Frans Lanting and his exquisite nature photography in the 1980s. Even then, looking at his early work, you were aware that in a field of photography where it was often an achievement to get any sort of image here was something very special. Since then I have followed with interest as Frans’s work has just got more and more astonishing culminating in his seminal book LIFE - A Journey Through Time (visit this site and be sure to “Start the Journey” as prompted - and prepare to be amazed). The work in this ambitious book reminds a little of the BBC/David Attenborough TV films - there’s the same feeling of “Sure, plenty of other people do this stuff and do it well but this is just on an entirely different level”.

I’ve said before that I grow weary of much “art” photography with it’s hyped up nonentiies whose work needs reams of inane gobbledygook by some “art critic” to explain just why the work is so important - not so much “a picture’s worth a thousand words” as “these pictures need at least a thousand words to persuade you that they are worth anything at all”. There’s a visceral visual delight in looking at the work of a real pro at the top of his game - a category that Lanting most certainly fits in.

Go see for yourself!