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Thursday 11 March 2010

Tigers: A Celebration of Life

I mentioned in my last blog entry, that I attended Focus on Imaging on Tuesday. One of the "events" at the exhibition was the pre-release of Tigers: A Celebration of Life, a book by Andy Rouse. Andy is one of the better known wildlife photographers in the UK and was commended in the 2009 Veolia Wildlife Phtographer of the Year with his image of two tigers fighting, with claws unsheathed.
The book itself is the culmination of a project and his love of tigers, stretching back to his early years. It is full of beautifully constructed images of tigers, from cubs to full grown adults. Unlike some photographers, he hasn't just gone for the close-up portrait shots, you so often see, but he has also gone for some wide-angle shots, showing the tigers in relation to their environment. If you're looking for photographs of tigers that portray the essence of the tiger, then this book is for you, but if you're looking for an in depth scientific study, then perhaps you'd be better off looking elsewhere. That said, there are also some conservation notes from Sarah Christie, outlining the plight of the tiger. Andy also has some advice on visiting reserves and looking for places to stay that help the local community and the environment. With just 4,500 tigers left in the wild, they are just as endangered now, as when I was a child, when I avidly read what I could. Tigers capture the imagination, like so few other animals can. I have a fascination with all big cats and while many animals come close to the same fascination for me as tigers, there is only one that exceeds it. As you might have guessed, it is an equally endangered animal and one with more mystery, it is the snow leopard.
For anyone interested in the book it can be purchased as a standard edition or a limited edition, complete with limited edition print from the 12th March 2010.

ARWP Store

More of his work can be viewed at his website.

Andy Rouse

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