Photographing the human-animal conflict in Africa

Too many people still believe that the main cause of wildlife disappearance in Africa is poaching. But, in many countries (when they are sensitive to the issue, like in Eastern or Southern Africa), poaching has receeded significantly or even nearly dispapeared. And this is the continuous human expansion which become the engine driving wildlife extinction: Humans need more and more space that it steals from Nature, with agriculture, roads, cities, etc.

Nick Brandt, famous wildlife photographer, wanted to render this fact more visible showing the conflict through a photo series (titled “This Empty World” – as it would be without wildlife) where it created superb photo compositions mixing animals and human industrial contexts.

Those are not photographs of these encounters, but pictures assembled on a computer. But these images speak louder than words. And they tell the underlying reality in a spectacular way.