“The back of an elephant is the best way to get close to tigers, rhinoceros, and other animals.” © Joan Myers

The images in Joan Myers’s new book, The Jungle at the Door, were inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s jungle stories, which the photographer read as a child. However, the magnificent animals featured in the book are threatened with extinction, hunted by poachers eager for their skins, teeth and claws. And their habitat is shrinking in the face of increasing development. Myers says, “Seeing a tiger in the wild is a rare and special gift.  I fear that, with their numbers steadily decreasing, it is unlikely that my grandchildren will have the opportunity I had to see a tiger in Kipling’s forest. And as we lose these wild animals and wild places, we lose a primitive and mysterious wildness that has long been part of our human psyche.”

(more…)

© Barry Steven Greff. “Downward Spiral,” from the series “FLOW,” 2006.

The photography of Barry Steven Greff, whether borne of water, land or air, is adept with an appreciation for the natural world. His series speak to the connections that humans have with nature and the need to protect these fragile environments. A solo exhibition of his work is on view at 25 CPW Gallery in New York City through January 13. An artist’s reception will accompany the opening tomorrow (January 10), from 6 to 9 p.m.  (more…)

All photos © Magdalena Solé

Documentary photographer Magdalena Solé spent a year living in the Mississippi Delta, photographing the people and places that make this area in the Southern United States so unique. A fertile strip of land that runs along the Mississippi River from Memphis to Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Mississippi Delta is rich with culture, family and community–though it has also seen its share of hardships, mostly economical. Solé captured the spirit of the region as well as its controversial history, and later collected the work in her book New Delta Rising, which won the Silver Award in the Prix de la Photographie Paris competition. Opening this Thursday, January 10, 2013, at the Leica Gallery in New York City is “The Mississippi Delta,” an exhibition of images from the series.

(more…)

© Beckwith/Fisher

The latest exhibition at Los Angeles’s Annenberg Space for Photography presents the work of several photographers who have depicted indigenous cultures throughout the world, from Tibet to Borneo to South Dakota. Called “No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World,” the group exhibition is guest curated by Wade Davis, an anthropologist, author and photographer whose work is also included in the show.

Other photographers featured in the exhibition, which is open through February 24, 2013, include Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, Chris Johns, Lynn Johnson, Steve McCurry, Randy Olson, Chris Rainier and Hamid Sardar. Images from several other photographers are also part of the show, as is an original, short documentary about the work of the featured photographers. Several lectures featuring exhibited photographers are also taking place throughout the run of the show.For those who can’t make it to the exhibition, the Annenberg Space has also produced a catalogue.

(more…)

© Jen Osborne/Courtesy of COLORS Magazine.

Jen Osborne is a Canadian photographer who currently lives in Berlin, Germany.  Her work typically revolves around therapy and escapism. In early 2012, Jen was sent on assignment by COLORS Magazine to a rehabilitation center in Bellingham, Washington. She was asked to photograph patients at the center during a visit by two friendly llamas named Marisco and N.H Flight of the Eagle. Accompanied by Niki Kuklenski, the llamas stopped at each bed to kiss the patients or receive a hug. The COLORS story explained: “For some, it’s the most cuddling they receive in their time at the center; for others, it’s a welcome novelty, relieving the boredom of life in an institution. The llamas leave a profound impression. ‘I had never met one before,’ remembers Holly Barto, a patient. ‘It was heaven. Just emotionally – to be able to touch an animal and hold an animal close.’ “